Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Symptom Assessment of Patients with Allergic Rhinitis Using an Allergen Exposure Chamber
Published on: March 3, 2023
Clinical predictors of chronic rhinosinusitis
Melissa Pynnonen1, Karen Fowler, Jeffrey E Terrell
1Department of Otolaryngology, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. pynnonen@umich.edu
Background:
Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is diagnosed by the presence of signs and symptoms of CRS in conjunction with physical evidence of mucosal inflammation. We sought to identify symptoms that predict CRS.
Methods:
We performed a retrospective review of patients referred to a tertiary care rhinology clinic for evaluation of CRS. Symptom survey data and diagnoses were reviewed.
Results:
Of 187 patients who met inclusion criteria, 112 (60%) were diagnosed with CRS and 75 (40%) were not. Chronic purulent rhinorrhea (odds ratio [OR], 2.2) and hyposmia (OR, 2.3) individually and in combination (OR, 3.8) were significant predictors of CRS. The major criteria of the 1997 Task Force in Rhinology (TFR) also predicted CRS (OR, 1.9) but the minor criteria did not (OR, 0.3).
Conclusion:
In this preliminary study, purulent rhinorrhea and hyposmia are strong predictors of CRS. The major criteria of the TFR also predict CRS but the minor criteria do not.
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