. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Mar 1.

Published in final edited form as: Curr Otorhinolaryngol Rep. 2012 Dec 27;1(1):51–60. doi: 10.1007/s40136-012-0003-4

Table 3.

Summary of Evidence for Topical Delivery

	Study	Study Characteristics	Conclusions
Saline	Harvey et al, 2007	Cochrane review; Included 8 RCTs	Saline irrigation is well tolerated; No significant adverse effects; Beneficial effect for treatment of CRS
Corticosteroids	Joe et al, 2008	CRSwNP – Systematic review & Meta-analysis; Included 13 studies; 6 of these used for meta-analysis	Topical steroids decreased polyp size in CRSwNP
	Snidvongs et al, 2011	CRSsNP – Cochrane review; Included 10 RCTs	Topical steroids is beneficial for CRSsNP in symptom control; Adverse effects are minor
Anti-Bacterials	Lim et al, 2008	Systematic review; Included 10 studies (2 RCTs, 2 controlled studies, 5 cohorts, 1 expert report)	Not first-line therapy; Stronger evidence (level IIb) for cystic fibrosis patient; Can use in refractory cases
Anti-Fungals	Lim et al, 2008	Systematic review; Included 4 studies (3 RCTs, 1 cohort)	No evidence for antifungals in CRS
	Harvey et al, 2011	Cochrane review; Included 6 RCTs	No evidence for antifungal in CRS