Investigating the correlation between mucus cytokine levels, inflammatory cell counts, and baseline quality‐of‐life measures in chronic rhinosinusitis

Abstract

Background: It is hypothesized that uncontrolled inflammation is responsible for many of the manifestations and symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Although earlier work has demonstrated an association between olfactory loss and mucus cytokines, the impact on other symptoms is unknown. In this study we investigated the relationship between cytokines, inflammatory cell counts, and patientreported outcomes measures to be er understand how the inflammatory microenvironment correlates with CRS symptomatology. Methods:The 22-item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) and 8-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-8) were administered to 76 patients undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery for CRS. Mucus was collected intraoperatively from the middle meatus and tested for 17 cytokines using a multiplex flow cytometric bead assay. Eosinophil/neutrophil counts were obtained from histopathologic slide review. Spearman correlations between cytokines, cell counts, and quality-oflife subdomain scores were assessed without multiple comparisons correction due to the small sample size. Results:Interleukin-4 (IL-4) correlated significantly with the Rhinologic domain (R s = 0.25, p = 0.03), whereas eosinophil and neutrophil counts were inversely correlated with the Extranasal Rhinologic domain (R s = −0.32, p = 0.01; and R s = −0.27, p = 0.03). Subgroup analysis for nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) showed significant correlations between IL-6 and Total SF-8 (R s = 0.35, p = 0.02), General Health (R s = 0.34, p = 0.03), and Emotional (R s = 0.47, p = 0.002) scores. In patients without polyps (CRSsNP), IL-21 correlated positively with Extranasal Rhinologic Symptoms domain (R s = 0.41, p = 0.01). Conclusion:This pilot study identifies possible pairwise correlations between mucus cytokine levels and baseline quality-of-life measures that need confirmation in larger, targeted studies. Due to the exploratory methodology, positive results may be spurious and should only be used as a starting point for future confirmatory work. C 2019 ARS-AAOA, LLC. How to Cite this Article:Chowdhury NI, Chandra RK, Li P, Ely K, Turner JH. Investigating the correlation between mucus cytokine levels, inflammatory cell counts, and baseline quality-of-life measures in chronic rhinosinusitis. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2019;9:538-544. C hronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a heterogeneous group of diseases involving the paranasal sinuses with a

Focusing on quality of life in chronic rhinosinusitis patients

“…Two articles in this issue evaluate the link between molecular biomarkers and quality of life in CRS patients. Chowdhury et al . and Orb et al .…”

The Development of Dry Eye Disease after Surgery-Indicated Chronic Rhinosinusitis: A Population-Based Cohort Study

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Expression and Clinical Significance of Mucin Gene in Chronic Rhinosinusitis

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