Journal Reviews
The search for the holy grail of rhinosinusitis: another step towards phenotyping in CRS wNP?
For many years, scientists and clinicians have been trying to understand the infinite variability within the term ‘rhinosinusitis’ using radiology, basic science, epidemiology and then using their insights to solve the riddle of management: how to explain why some patients...
CRSwNP and smell – is it just the obstruction?
Anosmia and hyposmia are symptoms of CRS both with and without nasal polyps and can significantly affect quality of life. The nature of anosmia/hyposmia is thought to be both sensory-neural and conductive. These authors studied a mouse model in which...
Balloons – more complicated than first thought?
This study describes the complications seen after balloon sinuplasty (BSP) - a commonly performed procedure (particularly in the USA where it is often performed as an office procedure) versus traditional functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS). The data source was a...
The snotty child?
This article is interesting for those of us who see children regularly in secondary care but rarely see them with chronic rhinosinusitis. The authors remind the reader of the EPOS guidelines for diagnosis of CRS in children: two or more...
Chronic rhinosinusitis, are we treating the same disease?
Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a heterogenic disease. The effects of heterogeneity on treatment outcome are not very clear. Authors used clinical features such as endoscopic findings scores and full blood count findings in addition to analysis of 35 molecular markers....
Balloon compared to FESS – long-term patient satisfaction
Balloon compared to FESS – long-term patient satisfaction This paper is the first controlled study of balloon sinoplasty’s long-term efficacy, with a follow-up extending over five years. There were 208 patients analysed and 88 recruited. Exclusions were nasal polyps grade...
Method of delivery: all topical nasal corticosteroids are not made equal
There is an increasing body of evidence that the role of surgery for chronic rhinosinusitis is to facilitate the delivery of topical medical treatment – most notably, topical corticosteroids. Two recent studies, one using flow dynamics and another one examining...
Stem cells in nasal polyposis
Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is common and is multifactorial with increased T-helper 2 response and active role of interleukin 5. It can be associated with asthma and control of CRSwNP improves lower airway disease. Due to constant cellular...
Sinus surgery effects on asthma patients
Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and asthma are related. The authors identified a gap in the literature and designed this study with a relatively large sample size of 86 patients. They included patients with comorbid asthma and CRS with or without polyps...
The effect of cocaine or adrenaline dressing during endoscopic sinus surgery
A randomised controlled study of 37 patients took place that underwent endoscopic sinus surgery for chronic rhinosinusitis and received adrenaline or cocaine-soaked patties. The study showed no difference in the mean surgical field scores between adrenaline and cocaine sides. Adequate...
Comparing patient and surgeon concerns in sinus surgery
This prospective observational study had a total of 180 patients undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery for chronic rhinosinusitis with or without polyposis. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. Subjects felt the greatest level of concern regarding potential...
Is there a cause-and-effect relationship between allergic rhinitis and chronic rhinosinusitis?
This review examines the possible causative relationship between allergic rhinitis (AR) and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) that has long been proposed. Many observational and experimental studies exist, however no clear and definitive connection has been established. This is mainly due to...
