Muhammad Riaz Akhtar, Muhammad Ishaque, Saadat Ullah.
Aetiology of Nasal Polyp - a study of 200 cases at Combined Military Hospital Rawalpindi.
Pak J Otolaryngol Jan ;20(1):9-11.

OBJECTIVES: To know the aetiology of nasal polyp in our setup so that the underlying cause can be addressed at the same time for a better treatment outcome. DESIGN. This is a descriptive study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY. The study had been carried out at the ear, nose and throat department, Combined Military Hospital Rawalpindi, a tertiary care centre, over a 03 years period from January 2000 to January 2003. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study was carried out on 200 patients. Patients of all age groups and both sexes who presented for the first time in our setup and found to have nasal polyp / polypi on examination, were included in this study. Patients who had history of nasal polypectomy with no nasal polyp at the time of presentation were excluded from the study. On the basis of detailed history, thorough clinical examination and investigations patients were placed in different groups like intrinsic rhinitis (vasomotor rhinitis), nasal allergy, sinonasal infection, sinonasal growths, drug allergy (aspirin hypersensitivity) and cystic fibrosis. RESULTS: In this study majority of the patients were found to be in second to fifth decade, male to female ratio was 2:1, 59% were diagnosed to have vasomotor rhinitis, 18.5% had nasal allergy, 12% had asthma, 14% had fungal rhinosinusitis, 4% had acetylsalicylic acid hypersensitivity, 6% had sinonasal growth, 2% had bacterial rhinosinusitis and 0.5% had cystic fibrosis. 84% of our patients turned out to be having bilateral nasal polypi, 16% had unilateral nasal polyp, out of which 6.5% antrochoanal polyp. CONCLUSION: The exact cause of nasal polyp is still an enigma, majority has simple aetiology but nasal polyp with sinister pathology-do present. So the management of nasal polyp should only at the symptomatic relief of nasal obstruction but the underlying cause and pathologies should also be addressed.

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