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Occupational upper airway disease: how work affects the nose
Author(s) -
Hox V.,
Steelant B.,
Fokkens W.,
Nemery B.,
Hellings P. W.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
allergy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.363
H-Index - 173
eISSN - 1398-9995
pISSN - 0105-4538
DOI - 10.1111/all.12347
Subject(s) - medicine , airway , intensive care medicine , etiology , disease , nose , allergy , sinusitis , chronic rhinosinusitis , pathophysiology , immunology , pathology , surgery
Chronic inflammation of the upper airways is common and can arbitrarily be divided into rhinitis and rhinosinusitis. Infection and allergy represent two well‐characterized and most frequently diagnosed etiologies of upper airway inflammation. Persistent upper airway inflammation caused by agents inhaled in the work environment represents a diagnostic challenge in clinical practice, and its pathophysiology has been little studied. Occupational rhinitis is a recognized medical condition with diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines. In contrast, only limited evidence is available about the relationship between work exposures and rhinosinusitis. This review aims at providing a comprehensive overview of the available literature on occupational upper airway disease with a focus on pathophysiological mechanisms and with an emphasis on the current unmet needs in work‐related upper airway disease.