The MicroFlow Spacer: A Drug-Eluting Stent for the Ethmoid Sinus

To evaluate the short-term outcomes and safety of a newly introduced drug-eluting ethmoid stent. Prospective study of 23 patients with a total of 40 implanted ethmoid sinuses. Two tertiary care medical facility. Twenty-three patients with medically refractory chronic rhinosinusitis were treated with patient-appropriate endoscopic sinus surgery, with the modification of treating the ethmoid sinuses with an ethmoid stent infused with triamcinolone, instead of conventional endoscopic ethmoidectomy. Patients were then followed up over 6 months. Outcomes were assessed by interval changes in 20-item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-20) and Lund-MacKay CT scores. Safety was determined by adverse events. Overall, the pre-op SNOT-20 mean score was 2.18, versus post-op score of 1.02, an improvement of 1.16 that was both statistically (P < 0.001) and clinically significant. Ethmoid-specific and side-specific Lund-MacKay mean scores both also showed statistically significant improvements. Pre-op ethmoid-specific Lund-MacKay mean score was 1.93, versus post-op score of 1.10, an improvement of 0.83 (P < 0.001). Pre-op side-specific Lund-MacKay mean score was 5.75, compared with post-op score of 2.95, an improvement of 2.80 (P < 0.001). There were no significant intra-op or post-op complications encountered. This triamcinolone-infused ethmoid stent appears safe and effective in treating chronic ethmoid sinus disease within the defined follow-up period. The ability to deliver medication directly to diseased mucosa holds wide-ranging potential.