Nasal and exhaled nitric oxide in chronic rhinosinusitis with polyps.
BACKGROUND
The ciliary epithelial cells in the paranasal sinuses produce nasal nitric oxide (NO) continuously and plays a variety of roles in the paranasal sinuses. The purpose of this study was to assess whether we can use the levels of nasal NO (nNO) and exhaled NO (eNO) as a tool for evaluation in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with nasal polyp patients.


METHODS
We used chemiluminescent NO analyzer to measure nNO and eNO among normal controls (32) and CRS with polyp (30) and CRS with polyp and allergic rhinitis patients (27) and compared it with various clinical symptoms, laboratory data, and computed tomography (CT) scores.


RESULTS
Levels of nNO were significantly lower in patients with CRS with polyps (88.5 ± 54.7 ppb) compared with controls (241.0 ± 89.5 ppb). Levels of nNO in CRS with polyps and allergic rhinitis (167.0 ± 47.6 ppb) were significantly higher than CRS with polyps and lower than controls. A significant inverse relationship was observed between nNO and sinus CT scores, severity of nasal obstruction, and purulent rhinorrhea in CRS with polyps. Low values of nNO separated well patients with CRS with polyps, and the cutoff value of <163 ppb was associated with the best combination of specificity (93%) and sensitivity (81%). A significant positive relationship was observed between eNO and CT scores.


CONCLUSIONS
The nNO could be used for another screening of CRS with polyps for the more severe phenotypes, which may eventually have to be treated with surgery.
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.
Jin Hyeok
JH
Jeong
Han Seok
HS
Yoo
Seung Hwan
SH
Lee
Kyung Rae
KR
Kim
Ho Joo
HJ
Yoon
Sang Heon
SH
Kim
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001944:Breath Tests; D002908:Chronic Disease; D045853:Exhalation; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D008875:Middle Aged; D009298:Nasal Polyps / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D010256:Paranasal Sinuses / Q000378:metabolism*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012220:Rhinitis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012852:Sinusitis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D055815:Young Adult
D009569:Nitric Oxide