Introduction: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is an inflammatory disease of the nasal and paranasal mucosa with great impact on quality of life and a large financial burden on society. This article provides an overview of its current and future pharmacotherapy, the mainstay of CRS treatment.
Areas covered: This article reviews the etiology, antibiotic and corticosteroid treatment, nasal irrigation therapy, bacterial lysates, anti-immunoglobulin E and anti-interleukin-5 therapy of CRS. This review highlights articles of interest on these topics in the PubMed database. Studies not in English language were excluded.
Expert opinion: CRS is a spectrum of disease characterized by mucosal inflammation. Defining its various subtypes will change its medical treatment from general anti-inflammatory medicine towards tailor-made pharmacotherapy. The optimal timing of endoscopic sinus surgery in this treatment process remains to be defined.