Journal of Allergy Nonpharmacological Treatment of Rhinoconjunctivitis and Rhinosinusitis Guest Editors: Ralph Mösges, Carlos E. Baena-Cagnani, and Desiderio Passali Nonpharmacological Treatment of Rhinoconjunctivitis and Rhinosinusitis Journal of Allergy Nonpharmacological Treatment of Rhinoconjunctivitis and Rhinosinusitis Guest Editors: Ralph Mosges,¨ Carlos E. Baena-Cagnani, and Desiderio Passali Copyright © 2014 Hindawi Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. This is a special issue published in “Journal of Allergy.” All articles are open access articles distributed under the Creative Commons At- tribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Editorial Board William E. Berger, USA Alan P. Knutsen, USA Fabienne Ranc, France Kurt Blaser, Switzerland Marek L. Kowalski, Poland Anuradha Ray, USA Eugene R. Bleecker, USA Ting Fan Leung, Hong Kong Harald Renz, Germany JandeMonchy,TheNetherlands Clare M Lloyd, UK Nima Rezaei, Iran Frank Hoebers, The Netherlands Redwan Moqbel, Canada Robert P. Schleimer, USA StephenT.Holgate,UK Desiderio Passali, Italy Massimo Triggiani, Italy Sebastian L. Johnston, UK Stephen P. Peters, USA Hugo Van Bever, Singapore Young J. Juhn, USA David G. Proud, Canada Garry Walsh, United Kingdom Contents Nonpharmacological Treatment of Rhinoconjunctivitis and Rhinosinusitis,RalphMosges,¨ Carlos E. Baena-Cagnani, and Desiderio Passali Volume 2014, Article ID 416236, 2 pages Clinical Efficacy of a Spray Containing Hyaluronic Acid and Dexpanthenol after Surgery in the Nasal Cavity (Septoplasty, Simple Ethmoid Sinus Surgery, and Turbinate Surgery), Ina Gouteva, Kija Shah-Hosseini, and Peter Meiser Volume 2014, Article ID 635490, 10 pages The Effectiveness of Acupuncture Compared to Loratadine in Patients Allergic to House Dust ,Mites Bettina Hauswald, Christina Dill, Jurgen¨ Boxberger, Eberhard Kuhlisch, Thomas Zahnert, and Yury M. Yarin Volume 2014, Article ID 654632, 7 pages Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis with Ectoine Containing Nasal Spray and Eye Drops in Comparison with Azelastine Containing Nasal Spray and Eye Drops or with Cromoglycic Acid Containing Nasal Spray, Nina Werkhauser,¨ Andreas Bilstein, and Uwe Sonnemann Volume2014,ArticleID176597,13pages Thermal Water Applications in the Treatment of Upper Respiratory Tract Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,SarahKeller,VolkerKonig,¨ and Ralph Mosges¨ Volume2014,ArticleID943824,17pages Noninterventional Open-Label Trial Investigating the Efficacy and Safety of Ectoine Containing Nasal Spray in Comparison with Beclomethasone Nasal Spray in Patients with Allergic Rhinitis, Uwe Sonnemann, Marcus Moller,¨ and Andreas Bilstein Volume2014,ArticleID297203,12pages Liposomal Nasal Spray versus Guideline-Recommended Steroid Nasal Spray in Patients with Chronic Rhinosinusitis: A Comparison of Tolerability and Quality of Life,AnnaEitenmuller,¨ Lisa Piano, Myriam Bohm,¨ Kija Shah-Hosseini, Andreas Glowania, Oliver Pfaar, Ralph Mosges,¨ and Ludger Klimek Volume 2014, Article ID 146280, 8 pages Meta-Analysis of the Efficacy of Ectoine Nasal Spray in Patients with Allergic Rhinoconjunctivitis, Andrea Eichel, Andreas Bilstein, Nina Werkhauser,¨ and Ralph Mosges¨ Volume 2014, Article ID 292545, 12 pages Probiotics in the Treatment of Chronic Rhinoconjunctivitis and Chronic Rhinosinusitis, Matthias F. Kramer and Matthew D. Heath Volume 2014, Article ID 983635, 7 pages The Compatible Solute Ectoine Reduces the Exacerbating Effect of Environmental Model Particles on the Immune Response of the Airways, Klaus Unfried, Matthias Kroker, Andrea Autengruber, Marijan Gotic,´ and Ulrich Sydlik Volume 2014, Article ID 708458, 7 pages Treatment of Rhinitis Sicca Anterior with Ectoine Containing Nasal Spray, Uwe Sonnemann, Olaf Scherner, and Nina Werkhauser¨ Volume 2014, Article ID 273219, 10 pages Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Allergy Volume 2014, Article ID 416236, 2 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/416236 Editorial Nonpharmacological Treatment of Rhinoconjunctivitis and Rhinosinusitis Ralph Mösges,1 Carlos E. Baena-Cagnani,2 and Desiderio Passali3 1 Institute of Medical Statistics, Informatics and Epidemiology (IMSIE), University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany 2Postgraduate Department of the Faculty of Medicine, Catholic University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Argentina 3University of Siena, ENT Unit, Siena, Italy Correspondence should be addressed to Ralph Mosges;¨ [email protected] Received 18 November 2014; Accepted 18 November 2014; Published 21 December 2014 Copyright © 2014 Ralph Mosges¨ et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Infectious and allergic diseases of the upper airways are In their article on the clinical efficacy of a spray containing among the most common illnesses of all age groups. Numer- hyaluronic acid and dexpanthenol after surgery in the nasal ous guidelines have been issued for the evidence-based cavity, I. Gouteva et al. demonstrate beneficial effects on treatment of these diseases. Therapy involves local or systemic wound healing for two substances that have a long history application of well-characterized pharmacologically active of local application in the nose but formerly were used medications such as glucocorticosteroids, antihistamines, separately. leukotriene-receptor antagonists, alpha-adrenergic receptor The so-called “extremolyte” ectoine is a substance, which agonists, mast-cell stabilizers, and a monoclonal antibody was introduced a few years ago as a “natural” treatment of targeting specific immunoglobulin E. In spite of the fact that allergic and inflammatory pathologies of the skin and the the various therapeutic options have proven their efficacy mucosal tissues. Five articles in this issue illuminate the and effectiveness in a myriad of well-designed clinical trials, mechanism of action and the potential benefits of a nasal many patients express their discontent with current therapies. spray containing ectoine in diseases of various aetiologies like In several surveys a majority of patients stated that they rhinitis sicca or allergic rhinitis. would prefer nonpharmacological “nonchemical” treatment A form of local treatment of the nasal mucosa that is over what is currently prescribed or recommended by their proximate to ectoine is the nasal spray containing liposomes. physicians. This desire stands in clear contrast to a systematic Its use in allergic rhinitis has been well established. A. reviewconductedsomeyearsagoprovingthattherewasprac- Eitenmuller¨ and coauthors present in their article for the first tically no evidence at that time for the efficacy of alternative time data on ectoine in chronic rhinosinusitis. forms of treatment of allergic diseases of the upper airways. For patients who are sceptical about using any sort of Ever since, several meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and active ingredients in their nasal spray, the application of mere well-designed clinical trials have been published, bearing water in the form of thermal water inhalations could be an witness to the scientific basis of some nonpharmacologic alternative. S. Keller et al. have conducted a meta-analysis options like nasal irrigation in the treatment of different which demonstrates some benefits of this least-invasive local pathologies of the upper airways, namely, for rhinosinusitis therapy. and for allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. There has been much controversy over the last decade on In this special issue, we want to highlight some new the meaningfulness of probiotics in preventing allergies. New approaches that until lately have found less public attention forms now come as treatment of chronic diseases of the upper in this domain. airways. M. F. Kramer and his coauthor M. D. Heath present 2 Journal of Allergy the latest state of knowledge of this nutritional therapeutic approach. Another much debated therapy in the field of allergic diseases is acupuncture. Most investigations have previ- ously focussed on pollen-allergic patients. It is the merit of Hauswald and coauthors to have conducted a randomized controlled clinical trial using acupuncture as an alternative to treatment with the state-of-the-art antihistamine loratadine in house dust allergic patients. Ithasbeentheintentionoftheeditorsofthisspecialissue to round up our knowledge on alternative therapies for upper airwaysdiseasesbeyondthefieldsofherbalmedicineand homeopathy.Thenumberofarticlesthathavebeensubmitted but more so their quality was a positive surprise. We are very grateful to the publishers who have had the courage of disseminating unusual ideas. Ghada Ali and Marie-JosefineJoistenwerethedrivingspiritsbehindthe scenes and without their continuous commitment this special issue would not have seen the light of the day. We are deeply obliged and thankful for their endeavours. Ralph Mosges¨ Carlos E. Baena-Cagnani Desiderio Passali Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Allergy Volume 2014, Article ID 635490, 10 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/635490 Clinical Study Clinical Efficacy of a Spray Containing Hyaluronic Acid and Dexpanthenol after Surgery in the Nasal Cavity (Septoplasty, Simple Ethmoid Sinus Surgery, and Turbinate Surgery) Ina Gouteva,1 Kija Shah-Hosseini,1 and Peter Meiser2 1 Institute of Medical Statistics, Informatics and Epidemiology, University Hospital of Cologne,