[Classification of chronic inflammation of the upper respiratory tract based on allergy status]

Almost one third to one half of all patients in otorhinolaryngologic practice experience some kind of inflammation of the upper respiratory tract out of which allergic mechanisms, either as primary factors or secondary ones, appear in 30-40% of adults and 60-80% of children and adolescents. The objective of this study was to analyse inflammatory conditions of the upper airways on the basis of allergic state of the patient and to establish the classification that will respect the actual immunological alteration level (subclinical allergy, clinical allergy) and spreading (localized allergy, generalized allergy). Inclusion criteria for all sixty nine patients were the diagnosis of chronic upper airway inflammation and their exposition just to ubiquitous allergens. Diagnostic procedure included anamnesis, physical examination and allergic in vivo testing of the skin and nasal mucosa to inhalant allergens. The certain categories of results were established for the skin prick-test (positive, negative, indefinite), specific nasal provocation test (positive, negative, hyperreactive) and nasal symptoms (present, absent). By using a strictly determined combination of results, we were able to define the six groups in our classification: nasal clinical allergy (30% of patients), non-nasal clinical allergy (19% of patients), localized nasal allergy (11% of patients), latent allergy (3% of patient), nonspecific nasal hyperreactivity (12% of patient) and non-allergic inflammation (25% of patients). Our classification takes into consideration the modern knowledge in the field of allergology and may bring an additional quality in respect to selection of therapy options, long-term follow-up of allergy status evolution in the individual person as well as intragroup and intergroup analysis of parameters important to evaluate the effects of antiallergic prevention or therapy.