Unified Airway Disease: Examining Prevalence and Treatment of Upper Airway Eosinophilic Disease with Comorbid Asthma

Mitesh P Mehta; Sarah K Wise

doi:10.1016/j.otc.2022.09.005

Unified Airway Disease: Examining Prevalence and Treatment of Upper Airway Eosinophilic Disease with Comorbid Asthma

Otolaryngol Clin North Am. 2023 Feb;56(1):65-81. doi: 10.1016/j.otc.2022.09.005. Epub 2022 Oct 18.

Authors

Mitesh P Mehta¹, Sarah K Wise²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine, 550 Peachtree Street, Northeast, Atlanta, GA 30308, USA.
² Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine, 550 Peachtree Street, Northeast, Atlanta, GA 30308, USA. Electronic address: skmille@emory.edu.

PMID: 36266106
DOI: 10.1016/j.otc.2022.09.005

Abstract

The "unified airway" describes the concept that inflammation affects upper and lower airways by similar mechanisms; this often manifests as rhinitis, rhinosinusitis, and/or nasal polyposis in the upper airway with associated asthma or bronchial inflammation in the lower airways. The relationships between eosinophilic diseases of the upper and lower airways are highlighted by examining their prevalence and treatment regimens along with the synergistic effects of treatment on upper and lower airway symptoms. It is important to recognize the interrelatedness of upper and lower airway eosinophilic disease to assess and manage patients accurately and holistically.

Keywords: Asthma; Eosinophilia; Nasal polyp; Rhinitis; Rhinosinusitis; Type 2 inflammation; Unified airway.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Asthma* / complications
Asthma* / epidemiology
Asthma* / therapy
Humans
Inflammation / complications
Prevalence
Rhinitis* / epidemiology
Rhinitis* / therapy
Sinusitis* / complications
Sinusitis* / epidemiology
Sinusitis* / therapy