Atrophic rhinitis

Chronic atrophic rhinitis
Classification and external resources
Specialty	pulmonology
ICD-10	J31.0
ICD-9-CM	472.0
DiseasesDB	30798
MedlinePlus	001627
MeSH	D012222
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Chronic atrophic rhinitis is a chronic inflammation of nose characterised by atrophy of nasal mucosa, including the glands, turbinate bones and the nerve elements supplying the nose. Chronic atrophic rhinitis may be primary and secondary. Special forms of chronic atrophic rhinitis are rhinitis sicca anterior and ozaena.

Permanent loss of smell and impairment of taste may also be a result of this disease, even after the symptoms are cured.

Specific infections, such as syphilis, lupus, leprosy and rhinoscleroma, may cause destruction of the nasal structures leading to atrophic changes. Atrophic rhinitis can also result from long-standing purulent sinusitis or radiotherapy of the nose, or as a complication of surgery of the turbinates. Some authors refer to as Atrophic rhinitis secondary to sinus surgery as the empty nose syndrome.

Extreme deviation of nasal septum may be accompanied by atrophic rhinitis on the wider side.

Treatment of atrophic rhinitis can be either medical or surgical.

Medical measures include:

Surgical interventions include:

This disorder was known since the time of ancient Egypt, almost 4,000 years ago, and descriptions of it are found in the historical medical papyri. In the Edwin Smith Papyrus (1700 BC) it was prescribed a treatment based on wine and breast milk to cure this disease. The ancient Greek and Indian civilizations were aware of atrophic rhinitis.

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