Paediatric rhinitis: position paper of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Abstract

Rhinitis is a common problem in childhood and adolescence and impacts negatively on physical, social and psychological well-being. This position paper, prepared by the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Taskforce on Rhinitis in Children, aims to provide evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis and therapy of paediatric rhinitis. Rhinitis is characterized by at least two nasal symptoms: rhinorrhoea, blockage, sneezing or itching.

Non-diluted seawater enhances nasal ciliary beat frequency and wound repair speed compared to diluted seawater and normal saline

“…showed the benefit of nasal irrigation in symptom relief and drug reduction in cases of allergic rhinitis. It has also been recommended as add‐on therapy in pediatric allergic rhinitis by European experts 20. In addition, nasal irrigation was helpful in improving the nasal peak expiratory flow rates and quality of life scores in children with atopic21 and nonatopic22 acute sinusitis.…”

Modern Principles of Allergic Rhinitis Therapy in Children

“…Constant sneezing, itching, rhinorrhea, nasal obstruction, cough and snoring, sleep disorders and fatigue negatively influence physical and psychological condition and social wellbeing, causing downslide in school performance [6]. Despite the presence of excruciating symptoms, the proven interconnection with and the influence on bronchial asthma, the issue of AR is often paid very little attention to, sometimes no more than a usual cold [5]. As a result, most of the pediatric patients either do not receive any adequate therapy they require, or are treated sporadically, taking palliative medications, falling out of modern treatment regimens.…”

“…Allergic rhinitis -IgE-associated inflammatory disease of the nasal mucosa caused by the impact of a sensitizing (cause-significant) allergen, which is manifested with at least two of the following symptoms -sneezing, itching, rhinorrhea, or nasal obstruction [1][2][3][4][5].…”

“…The nose is anatomically and functionally connected with the eyes, maxillary sinuses, nasopharynx, middle ear, larynx and lower airways: thus, the symptoms may include conjunctivitis, chronic cough, oral breathing, nasal twang of the voice and snoring with or without obstructive apnea during sleep [3,5]. Allergic conjunctivitis is considered to be the most frequent comorbidity associated with AR [10].…”

“…The recommendations of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) workgroup studying rhinitis in children and the consensus paper from the AR and its Impact on Asthma initiative group were analyzed [1,2,5]. The clinical guidelines on AR diagnosis and treatment [3] in children by the professional association of the Union of Pediatricians of Russia was updated in accordance with the most state-of-the-art, evidence-based recommendations.…”