Postnasal Drip

Abstract

Postnasal drip (PND) is a common symptom encountered when evaluating subjects with sinonasal disease; it may be present without sinonasal disease or as a symptom of laryngopharyngeal reflux. It is postulated that PND stems from dysfunction of normal mucus clearance mechanisms; however, there is no definitive evidence elucidating an exact pathophysiology. Compounding the uncertainties surrounding PND is the lack of an objective assessment tool. Instead, treating physicians must rely on subjective complaints and investigators utilize validated patient-reported outcome instruments, such as the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test, to determine treatment efficacy. This review seeks to discuss the current understanding of PND and evidence regarding effective treatment strategies.

Keywords: Allergic rhinitis; Chronic rhinosinusitis; Laryngopharyngeal reflux; Mucociliary clearance; Mucociliary transport; Mucus; Postnasal drip; SNOT; Sino-Nasal Outcome Test; Visual analog scale.