United airways disease: therapeutic aspects

Abstract

Early epidemiological studies described the association between allergic rhinitis and asthma. One of the earliest observations on a large sample assessed the effects of specific immunotherapy.2 This association has been further investigated and substantiated in more recent studies.3 It has become clear that the association between rhinitis and asthma is very strong,4-7 that bronchial hyperresponsiveness is frequent in patients with rhinitis,8 and that rhinitis itself is a primary risk factor for subsequent asthma.9-11 Moreover, it has recently been shown that, when a rigorous diagnosis is made, the prevalence of rhinitis in asthmatic patients approaches 100%.12 All observations suggest that progression of the disease occurs from the upper to the lower respiratory tract.