Purpose: Medical treatment of nasal polyposis is based on corticotherapy, and the most frequent complication of long-term corticotherapy is corticosteroid-induced osteoporosis.
Objective: To assess bone mineral density after long-term, high-dose corticosteroid treatment for nasal polyposis.
Patients and methods: Bone mineral density at the spine and hip was measured by absorptiometry in 32 patients who had received high doses of corticosteroids for nasal polyposis. None of them had a disease that interfered with bone mineral density
Results: Bone mineral density was measured in 32 patients (59% men) aged 49.7 +/- 3.7 years [range: 29 - 74] after corticosteroid therapy for a mean of 5.3 years [range: 2-22 years]. More than 70% of the patients had abnormal bone density (osteopenia or osteoporosis ) at the spine and 44% at the hip. Only eight (25%) patients had normal bone density at both the spine and hip.
Conclusion: High doses of corticosteroids in the treatment of nasal polyposis affect bone mineral density. Assessment of the benefits and risks of endoscopic sinus surgery must take this iatrogenic risk into account.