• Katie M Phillips, Eric Barbarite, Lloyd P Hoehle, David S Caradonna, Stacey T Gray, and Ahmad R Sedaghat.
• Department of Otolaryngology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
• Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2019 Nov 1; 161 (5): 890-896.

ObjectiveAcute exacerbation of chronic rhinosinusitis (AECRS) is associated with significant quality-of-life decreases. We sought to determine characteristics associated with an exacerbation-prone phenotype in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS).Study DesignCross-sectional.SettingTertiary care rhinology clinic.SubjectsPatients with CRS (N = 209).MethodsPatient-reported number of sinus infections, CRS-related antibiotics, and CRS-related oral corticosteroids taken in the last 12 months were used as metrics for AECRS frequency. Sinonasal symptom burden was assessed with the 22-item Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22). Ninety patients reporting 0 for all AECRS metrics were considered to have had no AECRS in the prior 12 months. A total of 119 patients reported >3 on at least 1 AECRS metric and were considered as having an exacerbation-prone phenotype. Characteristics associated with patients with an exacerbation-prone phenotype were identified with exploratory regression analysis.ResultsAn exacerbation-prone phenotype was positively associated with comorbid asthma (adjusted odds ratio [ORadj] = 3.68, 95% CI: 1.42-9.50, P = .007) and SNOT-22 (ORadj = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.04-1.09, P < .001). Polyps were negatively associated (ORadj = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.11-0.68, P = .005) with an exacerbation-prone phenotype. SNOT-22 score ≥24 identified patients with an exacerbation-prone phenotype with a sensitivity of 93.3% and a specificity of 57.8%. Having either a SNOT-22 score ≥24 with a nasal subdomain score ≥12 or a SNOT-22 score ≥24 with an ear/facial discomfort subdomain score ≥3 provided >80% sensitivity and specificity for detecting patients prone to exacerbation.ConclusionsIn total, these results point to a CRS exacerbation-prone phenotype characterized by high sinonasal disease burden with comorbid asthma but interestingly without polyps.

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