Prophylactic Antibiotics After Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery: a Randomized, Double-blind Placebo Controlled Trial

Overview

Surgeons commonly prescribe post operative prophylactic antibiotics after sinus surgery. There is minimal data to support this. The investigators' study will aim to demonstrate that patients' quality of life and rate of post operative infection is the same whether they receive or do not receive antibiotics post operatively. The investigators hypothesis is that the disease specific quality of life of patients taking post-operative antibiotics is not inferior to the quality of life of patients who do not take post-operative antibiotics, and the rate of post-operative infections are the same. The investigators' specific aim is to compare validated symptom scores between post-operative populations who are given or are not given antibiotics. Rates of infections in the first 10 days after surgery will be recorded. The investigators will also compare endoscopic grades of sinus cavities during the post-operative follow up exams as an additional outcome measure.

Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) is a commonly performed procedure in the United States to treat chronic rhinosinusitis. Common practice is to prescribe prophylactic antibiotics postoperatively. This is similar to the long tradition of prophylactic antibiotics after tonsillectomy. The American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery recently strongly recommended against prophylactic antibiotics after tonsillectomy. In this light, this study would demonstrate the lack of need for antibiotics after FESS. Currently one surgeon does not prescribe antibiotics except when evidence of active infection was found during surgery. The other surgeon in the study currently prescribes antibiotics. This study would prospectively compare the two groups in a randomized fashion. The investigators' plan to use the Sinonasal outcomes test - 22 (SNOT-22) as the investigators' primary outcomes measure, which is a validated quality of life instrument in sinusitis.