Sattah Nathan Gabriel, Lee Hui-Jie, Coles Theresa, Godley Frederick, Goldstein Bradley J, Hachem Ralph Abi, Jang David W
School of Medicine Duke University Durham North Carolina USA.
Department of Biostatistics Duke University Durham North Carolina USA.
OTO Open. 2025 Sep 9;9(3):e70161. doi: 10.1002/oto2.70161. eCollection 2025 Jul-Sep.
Sinus headache is a common complaint that can be due to chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) or non-rhinogenic facial pain/pressure (NRFP). The purpose of this study is to characterize over-the-counter (OTC) medications used for sinus headache.
Cross-sectional study.
Tertiary care academic center.
Patients presenting with midfacial pain or pressure to a rhinology clinic were surveyed on how often they utilized common OTC medications, with choices ranging from "always" to "never." Patients were categorized into CRS or NRFP groups based on endoscopy and imaging.
The study included 251 patients, with 69.3% female and a mean (standard deviation) age of 49.9 (15.7) years. Patients with CRS (n = 114) reported symptom relief "sometimes" to "always" when using pain relievers (38.6%), intranasal steroids (37.7%), and oral antihistamines (36%). Patients with NRFP (n = 137) responded "sometimes" to "always" with the use of intranasal steroids (49.6%), decongestants (48.9%), and pain relievers (45.3%). A greater proportion of NRFP patients responded "sometimes" to "always" for decongestants to relieve symptoms compared to CRS patients ( = .011). There was no significant difference in other OTC medications between groups.
Patients with midfacial pain or pressure reported using a variety of OTC medications for symptomatic relief. Decongestants were more frequently associated with symptom improvement in patients with NRFP. This finding indicates that symptomatic relief with decongestants may suggest a diagnosis of NRFP.
鼻窦性头痛是一种常见的症状，可能由慢性鼻-鼻窦炎（CRS）或非鼻源性面部疼痛/压迫感（NRFP）引起。本研究的目的是描述用于鼻窦性头痛的非处方（OTC）药物的特征。
横断面研究。
三级医疗学术中心。
对到鼻科门诊就诊的面部中部疼痛或压迫感患者进行调查，询问他们使用常见OTC药物的频率，选项从“总是”到“从不”。根据内镜检查和影像学检查结果，将患者分为CRS组或NRFP组。
该研究纳入了251例患者，其中69.3%为女性，平均（标准差）年龄为49.9（15.7）岁。CRS患者（n = 114）报告在使用止痛药（38.6%）、鼻用类固醇（37.7%）和口服抗组胺药（36%）时，症状“有时”至“总是”得到缓解。NRFP患者（n = 137）在使用鼻用类固醇（49.6%）、减充血剂（48.9%）和止痛药（45.3%）时，症状“有时”至“总是”得到缓解。与CRS患者相比，NRFP患者中因使用减充血剂缓解症状而回答“有时”至“总是”的比例更高（P = 0.011）。两组之间在其他OTC药物使用上无显著差异。
面部中部疼痛或压迫感患者报告使用多种OTC药物来缓解症状。减充血剂在NRFP患者中更常与症状改善相关。这一发现表明，使用减充血剂缓解症状可能提示NRFP的诊断。
