Could seasonal allergy be a risk factor for acute rhinosinusitis in children?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the incidence of acute rhinosinusitis in children with grass pollen induced rhinitis during the period of grass pollinosis.

METHODS: Children with nasal symptoms from grass pollen induced rhinitis but without rhinosinusitis symptoms were selected. Their parents were asked to complete a diary during pollen exposure to report nasal symptoms and drugs used daily. When rhinosinusitis was suspected, the confirmatory diagnosis of acute rhinosinusitis was made by fibro-endoscopy. Children without inhalant allergy served as controls.

RESULTS: Seventeen out of 242 children (7.0 per cent) had a diagnosis of acute rhinosinusitis, confirmed by fibro-endoscopy, during grass pollination, compared to 3 out of 65 (4.6 per cent) in the control group (p = 0.49). Among allergic children, those with acute rhinosinusitis had symptoms for a greater number of days and/or a higher symptoms score than children without acute rhinosinusitis.

CONCLUSION: Children with grass pollen induced rhinitis during exposure to pollen have an incidence of endoscopically confirmed acute rhinosinusitis comparable to non-allergic children. This suggests that grass pollen induced rhinitis is a negligible risk factor for acute rhinosinusitis.