A correlation of symptomatology with lung function in patients with allergic rhinosinusitis

Allergic rhinosinusitis is clinically defined as a symptomatic disorder of the nose induced by an IgE-mediated inflammation following allergen exposure to the membrane lining of the nose. It constitutes a global health problem. Both allergic rhinosinusitis and bronchial asthma are systemic inflammatory conditions that often coexist.

The objectives of the study are to assess the pattern of allergic rhinosinusitis and to correlate nasal symptom score with lung volumes of patients with allergic rhinosinusitis.

This is a prospective study of all the adult patients with clinically diagnosed allergic rhinosinusitis at the study center. Patients' biodata, symptoms, and signs were obtained using a specially designed form. The symptoms were scored using nasal symptom scoring protocol and the lung volumes determined using spirometry. The data were collated and analyzed using SPSS Version 15 statistical software.

There were 300 patients and another 300 nonallergic individuals as control. The most common presenting symptom was nasal congestion (98%), whereas the most common sign was engorged turbinates (91%). The most common trigger of allergic symptoms was dust (72.3%). Spirometric test results were below 90% on average in both sexes and significantly (P < 0.05) below those of the participants in the control group. A large number of patients with abnormal spirometry results have total nasal symptom scores of above 5 (n = 119), whereas few (n = 7) had symptom scores of 5 and below. There was a statistically significant correlation between high total nasal symptom score and abnormal spirometry (χ2 = 72, P = 0.0001).

There is a significant correlation between nasal symptom score and reduced lung volumes in patients with allergic rhinosinusitis even in the absence of asthma.