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Clinical features

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Symptoms may include:

  • progressive nasal obstruction
  • rhinorrhoea - usually clear; green suggests infection; if serosanguinous, suspect carcinoma
  • post nasal drip
  • anosmia
  • sneezing

Pain suggests secondary sinusitis.

A bleeding polyp may present with epistaxis.

Signs may include:

  • hyponasal voice - as if the patient has a cold
  • pale grey mucosal sacs inside the nose, usually bilateral; in severe cases, these may prolapse outside the nostril
  • polyps are insensitive if probed and mobile; turbinates are sensitive and fixed

In children with cystic fibrosis, polyps that develop before the facial bones fuse may produce hypertelorism. This is a result of pressure in the ethmoid sinuses forcing the growing skull apart.

Nasal polyps may be part of Samter's triad.


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