Chronic expectorant cough is one of the most common clinical symptoms and causes outside the lower respiratory tract are often forgotten or ignored. However, studies have now reported that approximately 1/3 of young adults with chronic productive cough are found to have rhinosinusitis, and therefore an upper respiratory tract source, such as chronic sinusitis, should be considered for chronic productive cough. If diagnosed, chronic expectorated cough is clearly associated with the treatment of sinusitis.
Sinusitis, also known as paranasal sinusitis, is estimated to occur in approximately 14% of the Chinese population each year. Acute sinusitis is often caused by a cold, and recurrent acute sinusitis leads to chronic sinusitis. At present, it is believed that the cause of sinusitis is mainly due to various reasons caused by the blockage of the sinus opening leading to infection in the sinuses, where nasal polyps are an important cause of sinus opening obstruction, and the inflammatory stimulation of the sinuses in turn promotes the growth of nasal polyps, so chronic sinusitis is often accompanied by nasal polyps, so now generally referred to as chronic sinusitis nasal polyposis.
The main symptoms are: pus, nasal congestion, decreased sense of smell, headache (often manifested as a dull pain or head heaviness, heavy during the day, light at night), phlegm, foreign body sensation, or dry throat pain. Some patients and even individual medical personnel lack attention to the symptoms of polyphlegm and do not adequately associate it with possible nasal diseases. In fact, for the posterior group of sinus (including the posterior group of sieve sinus and butterfly sinus) inflammation, its secretion flows to the nasopharynx and is spit out through the mouth and manifested as more sputum; while the anterior group of sinus (including maxillary sinus, anterior group of sieve sinus and frontal sinus) inflammation secretion may also be manifested as the return of more sputum due to the nasal polyp blocking the anterior nostril.
Of course, with the widespread use of antibiotics and the application of nasal endoscopic surgery, most sinusitis, whether acute or chronic, can be well treated. At present, about 90% of patients with sinusitis and nasal polyps treated by nasal endoscopy can be cured. The surgical principle of nasal endoscopy technique is to remove the diseased tissue such as nasal polyps precisely under the bright view of nasal endoscope, and open the sinus openings to fully correct or improve nasal ventilation and sinus drainage, so as to achieve the purpose of treating sinusitis.
Nasal endoscopic surgical treatment has become the most prominent surgical procedure for the treatment of sinusitis nasal polyps. This method has less surgical damage, conforms to the normal physiological anatomy, has better results, and truly reflects the characteristics of minimally invasive, effective, and functional. Surgical methods mainly include endoscopic surgery to correct abnormalities in the nasal cavity, such as septal correction for high septal deviation; partial excision of the middle turbinate for hypertrophy or polyp-like changes; nasal polyp removal if there is a nasal polyp.