Technical difficulties encountered with recording intraoperative blood loss; unable to proceed with study.

Randomized controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of a five-day course of pre-operative oral steroids on decreasing intra-operative blood loss during endoscopic sinus surgery.

The study will be a randomized cohort study, and patients will be recruited before surgery. Following randomization, patients will be given either a course of Prednisone (30 milligrams per day for 5 days, to be started five days prior to surgery) or no additional pre-operative prescriptions besides what is clinically determined by their treating physician. Patients will be scheduled for surgery and undergo functional endoscopic sinus surgery with timing as clinically indicated.

During endoscopic sinus surgery, surgical video will be recorded and stored on encrypted, flash drives with unique, non PHI, indicators to identify drives. Subsequently, each video will be graded by two, blinded surgeons for field visualization and thoroughness of dissection. Intra-operative blood loss will also be recorded. Post-operative data through 30 days post-operatively will be collected including: post-operative complications, resolution of symptoms, and nasal crusting during post-operative follow up. Following completion of data collection, these data will be analyzed by a separate, blinded investigator.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adult patients between the ages of 18 and 99 years of age with a diagnosis of chronic rhinosinusitis without polyps who are being scheduled for functional endoscopic sinus surgery

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients under 18 years old, patients with a condition in which the use of systemic corticosteroids is contraindicated (poorly controlled diabetes mellitus, poorly controlled hypertension, active or untreated tuberculosis, active viral or fungal infection, acute angle glaucoma, osteoporosis, or acute congestive heart failure) patients allergic to corticosteroids, or, patients unwilling or unable to take the prescribed course of pre-operative steroids.

Clinicians grading blood loss and surgical field disability on the recorded video footage will be blinded to patient identity and group status. Data analysis will be done by a blinded assessor.