Introduction: Quality of life (QOL) assessment is increasingly being recognized as an important parameter while evaluating outcomes after endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery (EETS). There has been no study that has evaluated this in the Indian context.
Objectives: We aimed to analyze sinonasal and overall QOL before and after EETS for non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs), and to evaluate possible correlations between changes in QOL and various clinicoradiological, hormonal, and surgical factors.
Methods: This prospective observational study included 62 patients who underwent EETS for NFPAs. The Anterior Skull Base Nasal Inventory-12 (ASK-12) and Short Form-12 (SF-12) were used to assess QOL. Changes in QOL were recorded at 2 weeks, 3 months, and 1-year follow-up periods.
Results: While the nasal crusting and nasal discharge components of the ASK-12 worsened 2 weeks after EETS, the headache component demonstrated significant improvement (P < 0.05). The overall ASK-12 score (6.69+/-7.98) did not change significantly at follow-up. The SF-12 physical component summary (PCS) score (42.14+/-8.54) improved progressively after surgery, while the SF-12 mental component summary (MCS) score (42.48+/-7.95) improved 1 year later. The SF-12 PCS correlated with visual field improvement at 3-month follow-up (P = 0.04).
Conclusions: EETS affects some components of the ASK-12 without affecting the overall sinonasal QOL in patients with NFPAs. These patients demonstrate progressive postoperative improvement in physical well-being, while their mental functioning improves only a year later. Improvement in physical functioning correlates with visual field improvement at a 3-month follow-up. Hormonal dysfunction and surgical factors do not have any impact on QOL in these patients.
Keywords: ASK-12; Non-functioning pituitary adenoma; SF-12; endoscopic; quality of life; transsphenoidal surgery.