title: Severe Chronic Upper Airway Disease (SCUAD) in children. Definition issues and requirements.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Upper airway diseases are extremely common, and a significant proportion of patients are not adequately controlled by contemporary treatment algorithms. The term SCUAD (Severe Chronic Upper Airway Disease) has been previously introduced to describe such cases. However, this term has not been adequately focused on children.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study aims to address the necessity of the term, as well as further details specifically for children. For this purpose, a review was performed of the current literature, with specific focus on issues regarding SCUAD in children.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Paediatric SCUAD represents a heterogeneous group of patients and has significant clinical and socioeconomic implications. Relevant literature is generally lacking and questions regarding definition and pathogenesis remain unanswered.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Accurate definition and acknowledgement of paediatric SCUAD cases may lead to better design of future clinical and molecular research protocols. This may provide improved understanding of the underlying disease processes, more accurate data regarding socioeconomic burden, and, above all, more successful treatment and prevention strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Crete School of Medicine, Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karatzanis
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Centre "Sestre Milosrdnice", Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kalogjera
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy and Medical Rhinology, Royal National TNE Hospital, London WC1X8DA, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scadding
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Erlangen Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Velegrakis
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Shimane School of Medicine, Shimane, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawauchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Osmangazi, Eskisehir, Turkey.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cingi
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Crete School of Medicine, Heraklion, Crete, Greece. Electronic address: eprokopakis@med.uoc.gr.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Prokopakis
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D012220:Rhinitis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D065631:Rhinitis, Allergic / Q000175:diagnosis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012852:Sinusitis / Q000175:diagnosis*
keywords: Diagnosis; Paediatric rhinitis; SCUAD; Sinusitis