The Clinical Spectrum of Rhinosinusitis in Children

Rhinosinusitis is an extremely common disease that is often underreported, especially in children. Its clinical spectrum includes acute rhinosinusitis (ARS) — which may present in the forms of ARS with persistent symptoms and ARS with severe symptoms — and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), characterized by a duration longer than 12 weeks and prevalence of symptoms such as nasal congestion and cough. Moreover, rhinosinusitis may present with associated disorders, that are nasal polyposis and aspirin sensitivity, asthma, otitis media with effusion, and gastroesophageal reflux. A particular form is fungal rhinosinusitis, presenting in an invasive and noninvasive form, the latter including allergic fungal sinusitis, which is the most common form of fungal rhinosinusitis and should be suspected in children with nasal polyposis and atopy.