European Position Paper on Rhinosinusitis and Nasal Polyps 2012: Updates and highlights on diagnosis and treatment of rhinosinusitis / 解放军医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Rhinosinusitis is one of the most common chronic inflammatory diseases worldwide. It has been associated with many diseases, including allergic and non-allergic rhinitis, asthma, nasal polyps, aspirin sensitivity, cystic fibrosis, immotile cilia syndrome, immunodeficiency, airway infection, otitis media and dental diseases. Due to the complexity in clinical manifestation and classification of rhinosinusitis, and their associated etiology and pathophysiology, evidence based consensus on diagnosis and treatment is important in order to enhance the effectiveness of available treatment and the quality of life of the patients. Since patients with rhinosinusitis may consult a wide range of clinicians, including otolaryngologists, allergists, pulmonologists and paediatricians, clinical guidelines or consensus with the evidence based diagnostic and treatment scheme for rhinosinusitis for different specialists are very important. The first European Position Paper on Rhinosinusitis and Nasal Polyps (EP3OS) was published in 2005 by the European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology in the Journal of Rhinology, and the updated versions were published in 2007 and 2012 in the same journal. EP3OS 2007 had been endorsed by many international medical societies, including WHO (e.g., InterAirway document), and the full document was translated into more than 15 languages, and its contents have been widely endorsed, as some chapters were significantly enriched, as extensive up-to-date information on epidemiology, predisposing factors, pediatric aspects and randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled studies in the treatment of rhinosinusitis were added, and it encourages further clinical and basic research in this field in the future.