High costs and burden of illness in acute rhinosinusitis: real-life treatment patterns and outcomes in Swedish primary care

Background: Few studies have investigated the impact of acute rhinosinusitis on disease-specific quality of life, and disease costs have not been studied previously in Scandinavia. Aims: To study symptoms, treatment patterns, quality of life and costs in adults with acute rhinosinusitis. Methods: This was an observational study in primary care. Patients aged 18-80 years seeking care for acute rhinosinusitis were evaluated using the Major Symptom Score (MSS) on days 0 and 15. Recommended and used treatments, quality of life and costs were assessed by questionnaires including EQ5D (TM) and a visual analogue scale (VAS) on the same days. Results: 150 patients were enrolled; 143 provided follow-up data. The proportion of MSS responders was 91%. Mean MSS decreased from 8.4 on day 0 (N=150) to 1.9 on day 15 (N=143). Patients reporting pain/discomfort and problems with usual activities decreased from 88.4% to 31.5% and from 43.2% to 1.4%, respectively, and mean VAS increased from 58.7 to 79.5. Intranasal corticosteroids were the most recommended and/or prescribed drugs. Total cost for an episode was 10,260 SEK ((sic)1,102), of which 75% were indirect costs. Conclusions: With treatment dominated by intranasal corticosteroids, a high proportion of responders and good symptom relief were seen. Acute rhinosinusitis seems to cause a high burden on quality of life and also a high cost for society. (C) 2012 Primary Care Respiratory Society UK. All rights reserved. P Stjarne et al. Prim Care Respir J 2012; 21(2): 174-179 http://dx.doi.org/10.4104/pcrj.2012.00011