Current approaches to diagnosis and management of rhinitis

Rhinitis affects >20% of the population and is a common reason patients visit their primary care physician. Proper therapeutic intervention initially requires differentiating rhinitis from acute and chronic rhinosinusitis. After establishing rhinitis as the etiology of a patient's symptoms, a careful, thoughtful history and physical examination aids the cause. Rhinitis can be allergic, nonallergic, or mixed (having features of both allergic and nonallergic rhinitis). Therapeutic interventions vary, depending on the etiology of rhinitis. Symptoms that are refractory to avoidance and pharmacotherapy warrant referral to an allergist or otolaryngologist for consideration of immunotherapy or surgical intervention. In many cases, adhering to an evidence-based therapeutic treatment algorithm will allow physicians to effectively manage rhinitis.