Nasal polyposis, familial

Synonyms

1

Overview

Nasal polyposis, familial ( also known as nose polyposis, familial) is a familial condition characterized by the development of nasal polyps.

Symptoms

Nasal polyps are usually classified into antrochoanal polyps and ethmoidal polyps. Antrochoanal polyps arise from the maxillary sinuses and are the much less common; ethmoidal polyps arise from the ethmoidal sinuses.

Symptoms of polyps include nasal congestion, sinusitis, anosmia (loss of smell), and secondary infection leading to headache. They may be removed by surgery, but are found to recur in about 70% of cases. Sinus surgery requires a great amount of precision as this involves risk of damage to orbit matter.

Causes

Nasal polyposis, familial has been identified as tending to occur in family members. A familial cause may be from a common environmental influence or may be genetic.

Diagnosis

There are two criteria (major and minor) that must be met. The former in the form of facial pressure, nasal blockage, decreased smell and the latter in the form of fever, headache, cough and dental pain.

Types:

There are two major types of nasal polyp.

  1. Antrochoanal
    1. Single, Unilateral
    2. Can originate from maxillary sinus
    3. Usually found in children
  2. Ethmoidal
    1. Bilateral
    2. Usually found in adults

Nasal polyps consist of hyperplastic oedematous connective tissue with some seromucous glands and inflammatory cells (mostly neutrophils and eosinophils) with respiratory epithelium, sometimes with metaplastic squamous epithelium on the surface.Nasal polyps should be distinguished from nasal papillomas, which are benign epithelial tumors and have more serious consequences.


Treatment

Nasal polyps are most often treated with steroids or topical, but can also be treated with surgical methods. Before and after surgery, sinus rinses with sterile warm water mixed with a small amount of salts (sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate) can be helpful to clear the sinuses.

The removal of nasal polyps via surgery lasts approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour. The surgery can be done under general or local anaesthesia, and the polyps are removed using endoscopic surgery. Recovery from this type of surgery is anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks. Mometasone furoate, commonly available as a nasal spray for treating common allergy symptoms, has been indicated in the United States by the FDA for the treatment of nasal polyps since December 2005.