NATURAL AND EASILY ACCESSIBLE SINONASAL CARE PRODUCT, VIRGIN OLIVE OIL: A PROSPECTIVE CONTROLLED CLINICAL TRIAL

Introduction: We aimed to investigate the efficiency of virgin olive oil for postoperative nasal care in patients who underwent sinonasal surgery. Materials and methods: Forty patients who underwent sinonasal surgery were prospectively randomized into two groups (Groups S, the study group, and C, the control group). In both groups, isotonic saline was applied to both nasal cavities, and subsequently, virgin olive oil was applied to a random nasal cavity in the study group during the postoperative period. Patients were examined at postoperative day 2, 7, and 15, and crusting and wound healing were evaluated. Patient nasal comfort was assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Results: When the groups were evaluated for crusting, wound healing, and the VAS, the results for Groups S and C were significantly different. The VAS scores were statistically significant in Group S compared with Group C only on postoperative day 15. Crusting was statistically significant on the Group S compared with Group C on postoperative days 2 and 15. Wound healing was statistically significant in Group S compared with Group C only on postoperative day 15. Conclusion: We have demonstrated that the benefit of using virgin olive oil after sinonasal surgery. Olive oil was found to be effective for increasing patient comfort, decreasing crusting, and accelerating wound healing.