Objectives: To explore the effect of intranasal administration of recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor (rh-bFGF) on postoperative chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) patients.
Design: A prospective, randomised, controlled, single-blinded trial.
Setting and participants: Seventy-five hospitalised patients who met the criteria of primary bilateral CRSwNP were enrolled from March 2020 to January 2021.
Main outcome measures: Visual analogue scale, 22-item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test, Lund-Kennedy (L-K) system and scanning electron microscopy and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.
Results: Seventy-five patients with CRSwNP were randomly assigned to three groups, and 72 patients completed the 1-month medication regimen and 1-year follow-up. Rh-bFGF nasal-spray and drop application reduced general nasal VAS scores within 2 weeks after endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) compared to the control group. In contrast, only rh-bFGF nasal-drops reduced SNOT-22 scores at 2 weeks and 1 year compared with the control group. A significant reduction in the endoscopic L-K score was observed in the rh-bFGF nasal-spray and drop group compared with the control group. This is primarily because rh-bFGF promotes cilia growth in the nasal mucosal epithelium after the operation, as illustrated by scanning electron microscopy and expression of CP110, Tap73 and Foxj1 mRNA. For eosinophilic CRSwNP, the general VAS score of rh-bFGF nasal-drops was more obviously reduced compared to the control group after ESS. A similar trend was observed for L-K score.
Conclusions: Rh-bFGF nasal-drops and sprays can quickly and effectively relieve postoperative symptoms and improve long-term prognosis of patients with CRSwNP. Moreover, rh-bFGF nasal-drops is also an effective method for postoperative patients with eosinophilic CRSwNP.
Keywords: eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis; nasal mucosa; nasal-drop; nasal-spray; rh-bFGF.
© 2022 The Authors. Clinical Otolaryngology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.