Environmental and non-infectious factors in the aetiology of pharyngitis (sore throat).
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this review is to examine the causes, pathophysiology and experimental models of non-infectious pharyngitis (sore throat).


BACKGROUND
The causes of sore throat can be infectious (viruses, bacteria, and fungi) or non-infectious, although the relative proportion of each is not well documented.


METHODS
A PubMed database search was performed for studies of non-infectious sore throat.


CONCLUSIONS
Non-infectious causes of sore throat include: physico-chemical factors, such as smoking, snoring, shouting, tracheal intubation, medications, or concomitant illness; and environmental factors including indoor and outdoor air pollutants, temperature and humidity, and hazardous or occupational irritants. The pathophysiology underlying non-infectious sore throat is largely uncharacterised, although neurogenic inflammation looks to be a promising candidate. It is likely that there will be individual disposition factors or the coincidence of more than one irritant with possible--up to now unknown--interactions between them. Therefore, experimental models with defined conditions and objective endpoints are needed. A new model using cold dry air to directly induce pharyngeal irritation in humans, with pharyngeal lavage to measure biomarkers, may provide a useful tool for the study of mechanisms and treatment of non-infectious sore throat.
Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Krankenhausstr. 9, 91054 Erlangen, Germany. bertold.renner@pharmakologie.uni-erlangen.de
Bertold
B
Renner
Christian A
CA
Mueller
Adrian
A
Shephard
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004777:Environment; D006801:Humans; D010612:Pharyngitis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects
D000393:Air Pollutants