Cognition and saccadic eye movement performance are impaired in chronic rhinosinusitis

Abstract Background Patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) can experience cognitive dysfunction. The literature on this topic mostly reflects patient‐reported measurements. Our goal was to assess cognitive function in patients with CRS using objective measures, including saccadic eye movements—a behavioral response reflecting cognitive and sensory information integration that is often compromised in conditions with impaired cognition. Methods Participants (N = 24 with CRS, N = 23 non‐CRS healthy controls) enrolled from rhinology clinic underwent sinonasal evaluation, quality of life assessment (Sino‐nasal Outcome Test 22 [SNOT‐22]), and cognitive assessment with the Neuro‐QOL Cognitive Function‐Short Form, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and recording of eye movements using video‐oculography. Results Participants with CRS were more likely to report cognitive dysfunction (Neuro‐QOL; 45.8% vs. 8.7%; p = 0.005) and demonstrate mild or greater cognitive impairment (MoCA; 41.7% vs. 8.7%; p = 0.005) than controls. Additionally, participants with CRS performed worse on the MoCA overall and within the executive functioning and memory domains (all p < 0.05) and on the anti‐saccade ( p = 0.014) and delay saccade ( p = 0.044) eye movement tasks. Poorer performance on the MoCA ( r = −0.422; p = 0.003) and the anti‐saccade ( r = −0.347; p = 0.017) and delay saccade ( r = −0.419; p = 0.004) eye movement tasks correlated with worse CRS severity according to SNOT‐22 scores. Conclusion This study is the first to utilize objective eye movement assessments in addition to researcher‐administered cognitive testing in patients with CRS. These patients demonstrated a high prevalence of cognitive dysfunction, most notably within executive functioning and memory domains, with the degree of dysfunction correlating with the severity of CRS.