Subacute Rhinitis in Infants: Gastroesophageal Reflux Must Be Considered

Abstract

The study sought to evaluate the influence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and allergy on subacute rhinitis in infants. Mothers of 74 infants with subacute rhinitis completed the Infant Gastroesophageal Reflux Questionnaire Revised. Participants with GERD were randomized to undergo one of the following regimens for 10 days: use of fluorometholone nasal drops with positional and feeding changes; positional and feeding changes; or a placebo. The daily amount of nasal secretion decreased by 75.9% (p < 0.001), the intensity of swallowing difficulty by 79.2% (p < 0.001), and the incidence of uneasiness by 92.0% (p < 0.001) in infants treated with nasal glucocorticoid and positional and feeding changes; and the percentage differences in the amount of nasal secretion (p < 0.001), feeding difficulty (p < 0.001), and uneasiness (p < 0.001) were greater than those in the group treated with positional and feeding changes. The infants treated with placebo did not improve. The influence of nasal allergy was nonsignificant. Gastroesophageal reflux disease might contribute to aggravation of subacute rhinitis in infants.