Chronic rhinosinusitis (CS) has a well documented inflammatory profile but this can only be obtained through invasive procedures. Nasal lavage has been proposed as a non-invasive tool in the assessment of inflammation. We correlated the inflammatory cell profile from sinus tissue of individuals with CS with that obtained from their nasal lavage.

Tissue was obtained from 10 patients who underwent endoscopic sinus surgery for chronic rhinosinusitis refractory to medical treatment. Using fluorescence activated cell sorter cytometry, sinus mucosal tissue was analyzed for T lymphocytes (CD3+4+, CD3+8+), B lymphocytes (CD19+), NK cells (CD 56+), and mononuclear cells (CD13+14+). Nasal lavage using normal saline was obtained just prior to the surgery and analyzed by flow cytometry for the same cells. Inflammatory cells found in tissue and lavage were paired and analyzed for correlation.

Inflammatory cells found in tissue were not significantly correlated with those found in the nasal lavage: CD3+, p=0.425; CD3+4+, p=0.185; CD3+8+, p=0.0665; CD 56+, p=0.275; CD 19+, p=0.733; CD13+14+, p=0.185.

Preliminary data with this technique does not show a correlation between the percentage of inflammatory cells found in tissue and nasal lavage of patients with CS.