Prevalence of lower airway diseases in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis.

Conclusion. There is high prevalence of lower airway diseases in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis and frequently co-existing lower airway diseases have not been diagnosed before. Objectives. To examine the prevalence of lower airway diseases in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. Methods. Seventy-three consecutive patients with chronic rhinosinusitis were enrolled in this prospective study. With routine physical examination, spirometry and methacholine bronchial provocation test were performed and chest simple radiograph or chest computed tomography was taken. Results. Thirty patients (41.1%) had lower airway diseases. There were 8 patients with asthma, 5 with asymptomatic bronchial hyperresponsiveness, 11 with small airway disease, 2 with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 4 with bronchiectasis. Of these 30 patients, 21 patients (70.0%) were first diagnosed as having lower airway diseases in this study.