Chronic Rhinosinusitis and Its Impact on Pregnancy

Abstract

Nasal congestion is the most common symptom of pregnancy rhinitis, which disappears once the baby is born. Pregnant patients with rhinitis report symptoms in 18 to 30 percent of cases. As a result, pregnant rhinitis may have a negative impact on the pregnancy and may result in obstructive sleep apnea, which may have an adverse effect on the outcome of the pregnancy. Previous studies on the prevalence of pregnant rhinitis at various stages of pregnancy have come up with conflicting results. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of rhinosinusitis during various stages of pregnancy. At a private hospital in the Kurdistan area of Iraq, a cross-sectional observation study of patients in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy was undertaken using the 22-item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22). The participants were women in their second and third trimesters of pregnancy. The study comprised 76 patients who were considered to be at low risk of becoming pregnant. Thirty-two patients were in their second trimester of pregnancy and 44 patients were in their third trimester of pregnancy when the study was conducted. When comparing the third trimester to the second trimester, the average item scores for the complete questionnaire were considerably higher (P value =0.041), indicating a more severe deterioration of cognitive function. In both the second and third trimesters, a comparison between women with and without preexisting allergic rhinitis reveals that the allergic group has significantly higher SNOT-22 scores (P value =0.007). In individuals with rhinosinusitis, the risk of miscarriage was reduced in the third trimester (P value =0.011). Rhinosinusitis is less common in the third trimester of pregnancy when compared to the second trimester, as well as when compared to patients who do not have rhinosinusitis in the first place.