Abstract
There are more than 30 million cases of sinusitis annually in the United States, with direct cost of managing acute and chronic sinusitis exceeding $11 billion per year. Recurrent ARS (RARS) is defined as at least three or four or more annual episodes of ARS, with symptom-free periods in between episodes. For RARS, some investigations can be considered to rule out complications or to evaluate for other factors that may contribute to the development of or modify the management of this condition such as allergic or nonallergic rhinitis, asthma, cystic fibrosis, ciliary dyskinesia, and immunodeficiency. Chronic rhinitis affects upward of 70 million individuals in the United States making it one of the most prevalent medical disorders in the country and therefore the most common underlying condition associated with rhinosinusitis as a comorbidity. Therefore, it is essential to diagnose and treat chronic rhinitis correctly in order to prevent or reduce episodes of rhinosinusitis. In this chapter, we present a case of RARS and a case of chronic rhinitis complicated by rhinosinusitis followed by discussions including definitions, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment options based on current guidelines.