Bacterial pattern in chronic sinusitis and cystic fibrosis.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the association between pathogenic bacteria found in bronchoalveolar lavages and paranasal cavity cultures in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) who underwent endonasal endoscopic sinus surgery. The authors hypothesized that the pathogenic bacterial pattern of the upper airway would be associated with that of the lower airway.

STUDY DESIGN

Prospective case series with planned data collection.

SETTING

Tertiary referral center.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

A group of 16 patients with diagnosis of CF who underwent endonasal endoscopic sinus surgery from July 2001 to August 2009 participated in the study. Culture samples were obtained from bronchoalveolar lavages and paranasal cavities. A Fisher exact test was performed to examine the significance of the association between upper airway and lower airway cultures.

RESULTS

The most frequent microorganisms in cultures of para-nasal cavities and bronchoalveolar lavages were Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus viridans. Statistical analysis revealed a significant association between upper airway cultures (paranasal cavities) and lower airway cavities (bronchoalveolar lavages) for the 2 most frequent microorganisms, P. aeruginosa and S. aureus (P = .007 and P = .030, respectively).

CONCLUSION

The authors confirmed their initial hypothesis that a significant association between bronchoalveolar lavages and sinus cultures was established, once more confirming the idea of a unified airway. They found chronic rhinosinusitis with polyps to be a common clinical presentation in patients with CF. Further studies are required to indicate the role of antibiotics and the pathogenesis of the microorganisms as a manifestation of clinical severity.