The importance of timely diagnosis of aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease for patient health and safety

Backgroud: Aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) is a difficult-to-treat syndrome where timely diagnosis and initiation of disease-specific therapies are pertinent to improved patient outcomes.

Objective: To characterize the most common timeline for development of the clinical triad [asthma, nasal polyposis, and reactions to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)], identify barriers to prompt diagnosis of AERD, and describe indications for an aspirin challenge to facilitate accurate diagnosis.

Methods: Six hundred ninety-seven patients with diagnosed AERD and history of at least one sinus surgery to remove nasal polyps were identified in the Brigham and Women's Hospital AERD registry. Patient reported age at disease onset of asthma, nasal polyposis, and age of first NSAID reaction were obtained from 2013 to 2019 at enrollment.

Results: Of the 697 patients identified, diagnosis of asthma preceded diagnosis of nasal polyposis and first NSAID reaction, although there was considerable variability between patients.

Conclusions: Prompt diagnosis of AERD is important for patient and provider education and improved care of this difficult-to-treat population of patients. Consider diagnostic aspirin challenge in patients without historical reactions to NSAIDs who have an otherwise compatible clinical history, specifically in patients who take daily low-dose aspirin, leukotriene modifiers, avoid NSAIDs, or who are severely symptomatic at baseline where it would be difficult to identify an acute worsening of symptoms.