Management of Rhinosinusitis During Pregnancy: Systematic Review and Expert Panel Recommendations

Abstract

Background: Rhinosinusitis, both acute and chronic, represents a common disease. Approximately 29.6 million adults in the United States suffer from sinusitis with 11 million suffering from CRS1. The multicenter GA2LEN study showed that amongst lifetime nonsmokers, women were at a greater risk of being affected by chronic rhinosinusitis than men2. Various other rhinologic manifestations of pregnancy have also been described. Nevertheless, management of rhinosinusitis during pregnancy is poorly described in the literature. Objectives: 1. Conduct a systematic review of the literature for the management of acute and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) during pregnancy. 2. Make evidence based recommendations on the management of acute and chronic rhinosinusitis during pregnancy. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted using MEDLINE and EMBASE databases. Search terms included “rhinitis” OR “sinusitis” OR “rhinosinusitis” AND “pregnant” OR “women” OR “gender”. Title, abstract, and full manuscript review was conducted. Full manuscripts including citations and references were reviewed if the abstract noted any gender specific outcomes. A multispecialty panel of experts in the fields of rhinology, allergyimmunology, and obstetrics‐gynecology was invited to review the systematic review. Recommendations were sought on the use of the following for the management of CRS during pregnancy: oral corticosteroids, antibiotics, leukotriene antagonists, topical corticosteroid sprays/irrigations/drops, aspirin desensitization, elective surgery for CRS, and vaginal birth vs. planned cesarean delivery for patients with history of skull base erosions or CSF rhinorrhea. Results: 3052 abstracts were screened, and 88 manuscripts were reviewed. No relevant level 1, 2 or 3 studies were found. Expert panel recommendations were synthesized. Conclusions: Several recommendations were made. These include continuing all modern topical corticosteroids for CRS maintenance, using pregnancy safe antibiotics for acute rhinosinusitis and CRS exacerbations, and discontinuing aspiring therapy for desensitization in patients with aspirin exacerbated respiratory disease.