Allergic Rhinitis and the Ent Practice

The term allergic rhinitis implies nasal inflammation with a specific allergic cause. Despite excellent clinical guidelines for the management of this condition, therapy is often unsatisfactory in many patients. A number of reasons for this phenomenon are possible, including the presence of local disease, ongoing and unrecognised allergic triggers, but also comorbid or unrelated pathologies in the nose and sinuses. Careful nasal and facial examination is mandatory in patients, but especially those who fail first line therapy for allergic rhinitis.