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Volume: 56 - Issue: 4

First page: 307 - Last page: 315

C. Hopkins - P. Surda - F. Bast - R. Hettige - A. Walker - P.W. Hellings

Prevention of chronicity of disease and minimising its impact with individualized treatment is a fundamental tenet of precision medicine. A review of the literature has been undertaken to explore how this may apply to chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS).
Prevention may be thought of across 3 main domains.
Primary prevention of CRS focuses on the avoidance of exposure to environmental factors associated with increased incidence of disease. This includes avoidance of tobacco smoke and occupational toxins. Although allergic rhinitis, respiratory infections and gastro-oesophageal reflux have been shown to be risk factors, there is no evidence as yet that treatment of these conditions is associated with reduced incidence of CRS.
Secondary prevention of CRS is concerned with detecting a disease in its earliest stages, intervening to achieve disease and symptom control and preventing future exacerbations. Evidence based guidelines facilitate early diagnosis and appropriate use of medical and surgical interventions. In the future the use of endotypes to direct optimal is like to allow more clinically and cost-effective use of current and emerging treatments, such as monoclonal antibodies.
Tertiary prevention aims to minimise the impact of an ongoing illness or injury that has lasting effects. Anxiety and depression have been shown to be associated with symptom amplification and may require treatment. The role of disease-related factors such as the role of the microbiome and osteo-neogenesis in the development of chronicity, and the development of severe combined upper airway disease needs further research.

Rhinology 56-4: 307-315, 2018