Allergic rhinitis, part of the allergic respiratory syndrome

Introduction. Diseases associated with immunoglobulin E hypersensitivity, such as allergic rhinitis, may have different clinical expressions. Patients with allergic rhinitis often have associated diseases, comorbidities, which supports the concept of allergy as a systemic disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence and types of comorbidities in allergic rhinitis. We also evaluated the possible effects of certain clinical and demographic parameters on the onset of comorbidities. Material and Methods. This retrospective, observational, and cross-sectional study included patients with a clinical diagnosis of allergic rhinitis treated at the Department of Ear, Nose and Throat in the period from October 2011 to April 2013. The collected data were analyzed using the Statistical Analysis System (Institute Inc. NC, USA) program, version 9.1.3. Results. The study included 319 patients with allergic rhinitis. Allergic rhinitis was intermittent in 30.7% of cases, persistent in 37.9%, and persistent with seasonal exacerbation in 31.3% of patients. We found that 86.8% of patients had some form of comorbidity. The most common were conjunctivitis (50.2%), almost equal percentage of asthma (29.8%) and chronic rhinosinusitis (28.8%), followed by otitis media with effusion (8.8%), atopic dermatitis (5.2%), urticaria (4.1%), and laryngitis (3.8%). Persistent allergic rhinitis, with persistent nasal obstruction as the dominant symptom, was significantly associated with chronic rhinosinusitis. Positive family history was significantly associated with the occurrence of asthma and allergic rhinitis. Conclusion. The results of our study showed that allergic rhinitis is rarely an isolated condition and it should always be observed in the context of the allergic respiratory syndrome.