Rhinosinusitis in Children and Asthma Severity

Epidemiology of Rhinosinusitis

Since the wider use of computed tomography (CT) scan, it has become clearer that a runny nose in a child is not only due to rhinitis or adenoidal hypertrophy, but also that in the majority of the cases the sinuses are frequently involved as well.^[4•] According to van der Veken et al.,^[5] 64% of children with chronic purulent rhinorrhea and nasal obstruction showed an involvement of the sinuses. Gwaltney et al.^[6] reported the presence of CT abnormalities in young adults with common cold. Of the 31 patients with CT scans, 24 (77%) had occlusion of the ethmoid infundibulum, 27 (87%) had abnormalities of one or both maxillary-sinus cavities, 20 (65%) had abnormalities of the ethmoid sinuses, 10 (32%) of the frontal sinuses, and 12 (39%) had abnormalities of the sphenoid sinuses.^[6] This study showed that common cold is often associated with important involvement of the paranasal sinuses, and that viral infection is a trigger factor for rhinosinusitis.^[7] On the basis of MRI findings, Gordts et al.^[8] reported that the prevalence of sinusitis in children was 45%. When the patients also had a clinical history of nasal obstruction, the prevalence rose to 50%, and finally to 100% in the presence of mucopurulent secretions. Another special circumstance to take into account is in the case of the children in day care centres. Younger children in day care centres have been shown to have a dramatic increase in the prevalence of chronic rhinosinusitis compared with children staying at home.^[4•]

Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009;9(2):151-153. © 2009  Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Cite this: Rhinosinusitis in Children and Asthma Severity - Medscape - Apr 01, 2009.