(516) Temporal Trends in Public Interest in Endoscopic Sinonasal Surgery

Introduction: Endoscopic sinonasal surgery is a cornerstone of management for refractory chronic rhinosinusitis, however, little is known about patterns in public interest regarding these procedures. This study examined trends in U.S. public interest in sinonasal surgery and assessed changes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: This retrospective infodemiology study analyzed U.S. public interest in sinonasal surgery using Google Trends data. Monthly relative search volume (RSV) data from January 2016 through January 2026 were extracted for predefined sinonasal surgery related search terms. The study population consisted of anonymous internet search activity from Google users in the United States. Outcomes included changes in RSV between January 2016 and January 2026, seasonal variation in interest, and changes with the COVID-19 pandemic. Independent variables included calendar time and pandemic period, categorized as pre-COVID-19 (January 2016–February 2020), early COVID-19 (March–August 2020), late COVID-19 (September 2020–December 2021), and post-COVID-19 (January 2022–January 2026). Preliminary analyses included longitudinal interest visualization, monthly aggregation for seasonal assessment, and comparison of mean RSV across pandemic periods.

Results: Public interest in sinonasal surgery demonstrated an upward trend prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was followed by a decline during the early pandemic (mean RSV 43.73) compared to pre-pandemic (58.61). Interest increased during the late pandemic (58.84) and further during the post-pandemic period (71.69). Seasonal analysis revealed peaks in winter months and troughs in late summer, indicating reproducible annual variation in public interest.

Conclusions: Public interest in sinonasal surgery demonstrated consistent increase, as well as seasonal variation, and experienced a notable, temporary decline during the early COVID-19 pandemic, followed by recovery and continued growth exceeding pre-pandemic levels.