Nigella Sativa for Selected Outcomes in Chronic Rhinosinusitis

The clinical trial will be conducted to examine the effect of administering a daily dose of 100 mg Nigella sativa nasal oil drops for four weeks on selected outcomes which include severity of symptoms, sleep quality and patient satisfaction among patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. The trial will be conducted on 102 adult patients with chronic rhinosinusitis who will be randomly assigned to either a study group (51 participant) who will receive Nigella sativa beside the standard treatment or a control group (51 participant) who will receive the standard treatment only. The current trial will be conducted in the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) outpatient clinic at Kasr Al Ainy University Hospital, Cairo, Egypt. Required data will be collected by using the following four tools: (a) Demographic and Medical Data Form (DMDF), (b) Sino-Nasal Outcome Test 22 (SNOT-22), (c) Sleep Quality Scale (SQS) and (d) Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM). The researcher prepared a flyer that will be handed in for the study group to explain how the oil will be utilized by the participants. The formal initial approval was obtained from Research Ethics Committee at Faculty of Nursing, Cairo University and an official permission was also obtained from the hospital administrators for conducting the trial. The researcher collaborated with Emeritus Professor in Pharmacognosy from the College of Pharmacy for the preparation of N. sativa nasal oil drops from Nigella sativa and Sesame seeds. Thereafter, data collection will be carried out from both groups using the following five steps as follows: recruitment and randomization; interviewing; initial assessment; intervention; follow-up and monitoring.

Inclusion criteria

• Adult patients from 18 to 60 years old,
• able to communicate,
• having a confirmed diagnosis of CRS by signs and symptoms and meeting the criteria of having twelve consecutive weeks or longer of two or more of the following signs and symptoms will be recruited for the current trial: (a) mucopurulent drainage, (b) nasal obstruction/congestion, (c) facial pain-pressure-fullness and (d) decreased sense of smell; and one or more of the following signs and symptoms: (a) purulent mucus or edema in middle meatus or anterior ethmoid region or (b) radiographic imaging showing sinus inflammation.

Exclusion criteria

• Pregnancy,
• lactating mothers,
• immunodeficiency,
• scheduled for surgical management for nasal polyposis,
• fever more than 37.8 ﹾC,
• patients with coagulation disorders or using anticoagulants,
• patients taking non-potassium sparing diuretics,
• patients allergic to N. sativa (patients reactive to sensitivity test)
• patients using any type of natural products as a complementary therapy at the time of the trial.