Introduction: Rhinosinusitis in patients who undergo kidney transplantation (KT) might have specific clinical characteristics due to immune status of recipients. The aim of this study was to identify the clinical course of rhinosinusitis after KT and to evaluate the efficacy of routine sinonasal evaluation before KT.
Methods: The study included 1589 kidney transplant adult patients who underwent preoperative sinonasal evaluation including sinonasal symptoms, nasal endoscopy, and plain X-ray between November 1994 and December 2013 (19 years). Demographic data and clinical course of rhinosinusitis were evaluated retrospectively.
Results: The study population consisted of 897 men (56.5%) and 692 women (43.5%) with a mean age of 42.5 years (range 18-75 years). The prevalence of pre-KT rhinosinusitis was 4.2% (66/1589), and that of post-KT rhinosinusitis was 0.9% (13/1503). The prevalence of acute rhinosinusitis and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) was 0.13 and 2.33% in pre-KT patients and 0.2 and 0.6% in post-KT patients, respectively. The recurrence rate of CRS in pre-KT patients was 37.8%. Of the 27 asymptomatic patients, the recurrence rate was 11.1%. Symptomatic patients had more severe endoscopic findings and higher Lund-Mackay CT scores than asymptomatic patients. The prevalence of fungal ball (0.8% in pre-KT and 0.3% in post-KT patients) was similar to that in the general population, and only one patient experienced invasive fungal rhinosinusitis after KT. No patient with pre-KT rhinosinusitis experienced severe complications.
Conclusions: The prevalence and recurrence rate of rhinosinusitis in KT patients was not increased after KT. Symptomatic patients needed surgical or medical treatment before KT, but asymptomatic patients showed no deterioration of clinical course after KT. Routine sinonasal evaluation for asymptomatic patients is not recommended before KT.
Keywords: End-stage renal disease; Kidney transplantation; Rhinosinusitis; Sinonasal evaluation.