Use of immunotherapy in previously treated patients with allergic fungal sinusitis.

Abstract

Sixty patients with a diagnosis of allergic fungal sinusitis were studied. The objective was to show whether, after initial surgical removal of allergic mucin and polyps, immunotherapy decreases re-operation rates and office visits that require medical intervention. Sixty patients with adequate follow-up for at least 1 year were evaluated: 24 patients who did not receive immunotherapy and 36 patients whose treatment included postoperative immunotherapy. The re-operation rates were 33.0% in those not receiving immunotherapy versus 11.1% in the treated group. Furthermore, the total number of postoperative office visits that required medical therapy decreased from 4.79 per patient to 3.17 with the addition of immunotherapy. These results indicate that immunotherapy is a beneficial part of the overall treatment regimen for allergic fungal sinusitis.