OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to evaluate inflammatory cells, the profile of inflammatory mediators in nasal lavage (NL), and the involvement of the paranasal mucosa in atopic infants with no symptoms of sinusitis. METHODS: 48 atopic patients with allergic rhinitis (AR), and 33/48 patients with asthma were studied; the control group consisted of 13 nonatopic children. Those individuals with acute, chronic or recurrent sinusitis were excluded. The involvement of the paranasal mucosa was assessed by coronal computed tomography (CT) and graded by a standard protocol (0-30). A CT score greater than or equal to 12 indicated extensive involvement. Nasal lavage was used to quantify total and differential nasal cell counts. An aliquot of the supernatant was used for determining inflammatory mediators: interleukin-8 (IL-8), myeloperoxidase (MPO), and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP). Albumin was used as a marker for increased vascular permeability. These measurements were performed on all of the atopic patients and in 6/13 patients in the control group. The three groups were submitted to spirometry and complete blood cell count. RESULTS: Extensive involvement of the paranasal mucosa was observed in 7/33 (21%) of asthmatic patients (Group I) and 2/15 (13%) of those with allergic rhinitis (Group II). The highest CT score in the control group (Group III) was 7. Total cell and eosinophil count/ml and albumin concentration in nasal fluid were higher in asthmatic patients whose CT score was greater than 12. Interleukin-8 concentration, number of neutrophils and epithelial cells/ml in nasal fluid were similar in the three groups. A positive correlation between CT score, peripheral blood eosinophilia, number of eosinophils/ml and eosinophil cationic protein concentration was found in the nasal fluid of atopic children (n=48). There was an association between number of neutrophils and titers of interleukin-8 and myeloperoxidase, and between interleukin-8 and eosinophil count. CONCLUSIONS: In asthmatic patients with no symptoms of sinusitis, the extensive involvement of the paranasal mucosa is associated with blood and nasal lavage eosinophilia and cellular activation. Neutrophil infiltration and activation were not related to increased involvement of the paranasal mucosa.
sinusitis; asthma; rhinitis; cumputed tomography; nasal lavage; interleukin-8; myeloperoxidase; eosinophil cationic protein
