Clinical and Histological Differences Between Choanal Polyps in Children and Adults: A 15-Year Retrospective Study.

Abstract

Choanal polyps (CPs) are benign, inflammatory, solitary lesions extending toward the junction between the nasal cavity/paranasal sinus and the nasopharynx through the choana. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical and histological characteristics of CPs in children compared to adult patients. Characteristics of patients (demography, main complaints, side, localization, surgical approach, histological characteristics, accompanying chronic rhinosinusitis [CRS], association with allergic rhinitis [AR] and aspirin sensitivity, postoperative follow-up period, recurrence rates) were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were classified into children (<18 years) and adults (≥18 years). Our results suggest some clinical and histological specificities of CPs in children compared to adults. Epistaxis, oropharyngeal extension, association with AR and ipsilateral CRS, and angiomatous histological subtype of CPs are more frequent in the pediatric population. Also, the level of eosinophil infiltration of polyp tissue and recurrence rates are higher in pediatrics than in adult population.