Author(s)
Hajera Afreen, BA
Monirah Al-Bhathi, MD MPH
Kolapo Dairo, BA
Aiden Vanek, BA
Alexandra Gach, BA
Isaac Kistler, MS
Prasanth Pattisapu, MD MPH
Tendy Chiang, MD
Elizabeth Erwin, MD
Charles Elmaraghy, MD
Affiliation(s)
Nationwide Children's Hospital;
Abstract:
Educational Objective: At the conclusion of this presentation, the participants should be able to understand what treatment options are offered in a multidisciplinary rhinology clinic.
Objectives: The rhinology clinic at a tertiary level children's hospital was created in 2010 to offer a multidisciplinary care approach to treat patients with persistent chronic rhinitis. The various treatment plans and surgical interventions of this clinic have not yet been studied.
Study Design: Descriptive retrospective chart review.
Methods: Charts of 91 patients with at least one multidisciplinary rhinology clinic encounter from 2016-2022 were reviewed and analyzed for encounter reasons and subsequent treatments.
Results: All patients were referred due to persistent chronic rhinitis. The median duration of symptoms until first referral to and subsequent encounter with rhinology was 5 months (IQR 1.8, 33.48). An allergist medically evaluated each patient at their respective rhinology encounters. Of the 91 patients analyzed in this study, 76 (86.5%) of patients received skin prick allergy testing at their initial encounter, and the remaining 14 (15%) patients received none because of testing prior to referral. Rhinology clinic also referred 34 patients (37.4%) for further sino-nasal CT imaging, and 22 (69%) of these patients were eventually referred for surgery. A total of 49 patients (53.8%) were referred to surgery following rhinology referral, of which the most common interventions were turbinate reduction (n=36, 39.6%) and sinus surgery (n=28, 30.8%).
Conclusions: A multidisciplinary rhinology clinic offers a novel approach to patients with persistent chronic rhinitis and addresses both surgical and medical aspects of symptom management. Understanding the treatment options available can further reveal the value of a multidisciplinary approach regarding the management of chronic rhinitis.