Biologic therapies for chronic rhinosinusitis

Abstract

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a complex multifactorial inflammatory disease of the nose and paranasal sinuses that impacts 5-12% of the worldwide adult population [1-3]. Often diagnosed later in life, the onset of primary CRS occurs generally between 40 and 60 years of age [4]. The diagnosis of CRS is based on both clinical symptoms and mucosal changes observed with either endoscopy or computed tomography (CT) [2]. This disease is associated with significant morbidity and has been associated with a substantially reduced health-related quality of life [4]. In North America, a majority of people with CRS report facial pain (60-92%), nasal congestion (95-100%), loss of olfaction (56-84%) and headache (33-90%) [5]. The costs of managing CRS are not insignificant, with the annual direct cost of CRS treatment ranging from 5560 to 5955 USD per patient, and annual indirect costs estimated at 10,077.07 USD per patient [6, 7]. The annual total direct cost attributed to CRS treatment in the United States has been previously estimated at upwards of from 60.2 billion USD [6].