Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps in the elderly: assessing current evidence.

Background: The recently reported prevalence of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) among people >60 years old was 4.7%, with CRS emerging as the sixth most common chronic condition in the elderly. There is still a dearth of studies that focused on older patients, however, regarding the characteristics of CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). Objective: The emerging role of CRSwNP endotyping to enable a tailored medical approach (for elderly patients also) was investigated. Method: The present review of data reported predominantly in the past 5 years aimed to critically discuss the pathophysiologic, clinical, and prognostic features of CRSwNP in elderly patients. Results: Although the existing data were not final, they supported the notion that geriatric patients can be managed safely by adopting the same surgical algorithm as for younger adults, including endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). As for medical therapies, prolonged systemic steroid treatment for CRSwNP should be given with caution to elderl...