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HEALTH & SCIENCESinusitis guidelines point the way for further researchThe consensus paper seeks to define and categorize the increasingly prevalent condition in order to improve clinical studies, and ultimately patient care.By Victoria Stagg Elliott, AMNews staff. Dec. 27, 2004. Rhinosinusitis -- also known as sinusitis -- is an inflammatory disease rather than an infectious one, although viruses, bacteria and fungi may play a role. The condition may also be caused by allergies or adverse reactions to medications, according to a consensus document issued by an expert panel convened by several specialty societies. The guidelines were published in supplements with the December issues of the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology and Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery. "We do know it's an inflammatory process, but what produces that inflammation, that's what we're trying to define," said James A. Hadley, MD, one of the authors and past president of the American Rhinologic Society and the American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy. The hope of those involved is that more precise definitions of the disorder's variants will improve the care of patients and ensure that scientists use the same standards in research. "We're also trying to define how we can best approach these patients from a research point of view and put them into clinical studies to look at appropriate medications," said Dr. Hadley, who is also associate professor of otolaryngology at the University of Rochester in New York. Experts praised the consensus paper for providing guidance regarding a condition for which a cause is often elusive and treatment is often chosen by a process of elimination. "Sinusitis has been just sort of one big blob," said J. David Osguthorpe, MD, president of the Sinus and Allergy Health Partnership and professor of otolaryngology at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. "What this paper is about is tackling acute and chronic [sinusitis] and where we should go in clinical studies to figure this thing out." [...]Full text of AMNews content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2004 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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