Diagnosis and treatment of Chronic Rhinosinusitis in Children according European Position Paper on Rhinosinusitis and nasal Polyps –EPOS-2012 and American Academy Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery 2014

Abstract

Pediatric rhinosinusitis is defined as a presence of two or more symptoms and one of them should be either nasal blockage or nasal discharge and headache/facial pain or cough. Chronic rhinosinusitis - CRS is recognized when the four most common symptoms as cough, rhinorrhea, nasal congestion and post nasal drip with a slightly higher predominance of chronic cough are presented for more than 12 weeks and influence the quality of life. CRS should be considered in respect of unique conditions because of the differences in predisposing factors (immunological and others) and the anatomy of the sinuses between children and adults. The adenoids are a prominent contributor to CRS in young children, both from bacteriologic and immunologic status. The older children suffer from CRS in the same manner as adults. During evaluation a child with symptoms of CRS , one should always consider the possibility of underlying disease as a contributing factor. Diseases impacting sinuses and nasal function include CF, primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) and a variety of normal immune deficiencies, including the still-developing immature immunity of healthy young children. Surgical intervention for rhinosinusitis is usually considered for patients with CRS who have failed maximal pharmacological treatment. There are two important consensus statements for pediatric chronic sinusitis (CRS): European Position papers on Rhinosinusitis and Nasal Polyps -EPOS 2012 and Clinical Consensus Statement: Pediatric Chronic Sinusitis American Academy Otolaryngology-Head Neck Surgery 2014. Both of them contain necessary information and recommendation for diagnosis and treatment of CRS in children.