Nasal Polyps is a topic covered in the 5-Minute Clinical Consult.

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Basics

  • Chronic inflammatory lesion of nasal mucosa
  • Arise from ethmoidal cells but can arise from maxillary sinus mucosa although less common
  • Appearance of edematous pedunculated mass in the nasal cavity or within the paranasal sinus
  • Often causes symptoms of blockage, discharge, or loss of smell
  • Most commonly bilateral; suspect tumor, such as inverted papilloma, if unilateral.
  • Prevalence ~4% in general population
  • Much rarer in children: ~0.1% and associated with cystic fibrosis
  • Increases with age
  • Predominant sex: female > male (2:1)
  • Asthma is present in 65% of patients; 25% of patients have undiagnosed asthma.
  • No clearly delineated pathway; research has demonstrated separate TH1- and TH2-driven pathways (1)[B].
  • Development of condition remains unclear; multiple inflammatory and infectious pathways resulting from chronic rhinosinusitis is most common.

General Prevention

Use of intranasal corticosteroids after polyp removal surgery has shown effectiveness against recurrence.

Commonly Associated Conditions

  • Bronchial asthma
  • Bronchiectasis
  • Aspirin hypersensitivity
  • Allergic rhinitis
  • Cigarette smoking promotes eosinophilic inflammation.
  • Chronic sinusitis
  • Allergic fungal sinusitis
  • Aspirin sensitivity
  • Cystic fibrosis
  • Primary ciliary dyskinesia (Kartagener syndrome)
  • Laryngopharyngeal reflux

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Citation

* When formatting your citation, note that all book, journal, and database titles should be italicized* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - ELEC T1 - Nasal Polyps ID - 116963 ED - Baldor,Robert A, ED - Domino,Frank J, ED - Golding,Jeremy, ED - Stephens,Mark B, BT - 5-Minute Clinical Consult, Updating UR - https://im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/116963/all/Nasal_Polyps PB - Wolters Kluwer ET - 27 DB - Medicine Central DP - Unbound Medicine ER -