Efficacy of montelukast in the treatment of nasal polyposis

Objectives: Twenty-four consecutive patients with symptomatic nasal polyposis and nonallergic or perennial rhinitis who were undergoing chronic nasal steroid therapy were prospectively evaluated for response to adjunctive oral montelukast sodium therapy. Methods: The patients were undergoing daily intranasal steroid sprays for a minimum of 6 months before being started on montelukast sodium 10 mg by mouth per day for 3 months while intranasal steroids were continued. The patients were given a validated symptom score survey at the start and end of therapy, with a lower score indicating fewer symptoms. The nasal polyps were submitted to biopsy before and after treatment to determine their degree of eosinophilia. Eosinophilia was graded in a blinded fashion by an independent pathologist on a scale of 0 to 3, with 3 being severe. Patients with seasonal allergies were excluded, and the studied patients were treated during the winter season to avoid confounding by potential seasonal allergic responses. Results: The patients tended to improve on montelukast therapy in terms of their symptom scores and polyp eosinophil counts. The symptoms improved in 17 patients (71%) and remained the same or worsened in 7 patients (29%). The symptom score for the group improved from a pretreatment value of 33.4 (SD, 7.73) to a posttreatment value of 23.3 (SD, 13.73; p <.001). In addition, the eosinophilia score improved from 2.3 (SD, 0.68) to 1.5 (SD, 0.82; p <.01). The improvement was most noticeable in the patients with perennial allergies. Conclusions: These results suggest that montelukast appears to be beneficial for some patients with nasal polyposis. Patients with perennial allergies and nasal polyposis seem more likely to respond to the treatment than those with nonallergic nasal polyposis.