Oral Therapeutics for Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyposis

Oral therapeutics for chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) include oral corticosteroids (OCS), antibiotics, antifungals and anti-leukotrienes. Of these treatments, the strongest evidence exists to support the use of a short course of OCS for treatment of CRSwNP, and OCS are the most consistently recommended oral therapy in practice guidelines. Antibiotics have demonstrated some utility, which appears more likely related to an anti-inflammatory rather than antimicrobial effect. The non-macrolide antibiotics lack sufficient evidence to support their use, though among this class doxycycline has some limited evidence of benefit in CRSwNP. Greater evidence exists for the use of macrolide antibiotics which have shown reduction of subjective and objective measures of CRSwNP severity. A short course of a macrolide should be considered as an option. Oral antifungals are not recommended in the treatment of CRSwNP given disappointing results and known potential adverse effects, except in allergic fungal rhinosinusitis where they may play a role. Leukotriene antagonists have demonstrated some promise in the treatment of CRSwNP, though studies are limited, but should be considered a potentially useful oral therapeutic. The current level of evidence for these oral therapeutic options for CRSwNP is reviewed in this chapter.