The united allergic airway: connections between allergic rhinitis, asthma, and chronic sinusitis.
BACKGROUND
The united allergic airway is a theory that connects allergic rhinitis (AR), chronic rhinosinusitis, and asthma, in which seemingly disparate diseases, instead of being thought of separately, are instead viewed as arising from a common atopic entity.


OBJECTIVE
This article describes patients with such diseases; explores ideas suggesting a unified pathogenesis; elucidates the various treatment modalities available, emphasizing nasal corticosteroids and antihistamines; and provides an update of the literature.


METHODS
A literature review was conducted.


CONCLUSIONS
The aggregation of research suggests that AR, asthma, and chronic rhinosinusitis are linked by the united allergic airway, a notion that encompasses commonalities in pathophysiology, epidemiology, and treatment.
Department of Internal Medicine, Scripps Green Hospital, La Jolla, California, USA. cfeng622@gmail.com
Charles H
CH
Feng
Michaela D
MD
Miller
Ronald A
RA
Simon
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006633:Histamine Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D018448:Models, Immunological; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*; D012852:Sinusitis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D006633:Histamine Antagonists