Peer Reviewed
Feature Article Respiratory medicine
Continuous airways: allergic and nonallergic associations between the nose and lungs
Abstract
This article illustrates the continuous airway, focusing on allergic and nonallergic associations between the nose and lungs, studying firstly the link between allergic rhinitis and asthma and secondly aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease.
Key Points
- Rhinitis is a common chronic illness with a lifetime annual incidence of at least 7 per 1000 people.
- Over 80% of patients with asthma have rhinitis, and 10 to 40% of patients with rhinitis have asthma.
- Both allergic and nonallergic rhinitis are independent risk factors for the development of asthma.
- Treatment of rhinitis can influence asthma outcomes.
- Aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease occurs in more than 14% of patients with severe asthma.
Picture credit: © Phototake/PDSN/Medical Images.
Purchase the PDF version of this article
Already a subscriber? Login here.