Association of CPAP bacterial colonization with chronic rhinosinusitis.

STUDY OBJECTIVE

The purpose of our study was to investigate whether bacterial colonization of the continuous positive air-way pressure (CPAP) machine reservoirs occurred, and if so, if it was related to the development of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS).

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study.

SETTING

London Health Sciences Center (LHSC).

PATIENTS

Regular CPAP users with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

INTERVENTIONS

N/A.

MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS

Patient demographics were recorded and they were asked to fill out the chronic sinusitis survey (CSS) form. Patients then had their CPAP machines swabbed. An ANOVA was used to determine if the presence of microbacterial colonization was related to CSS scores. In total, 72 patients were included in the study. There was no significant difference in any of the scores between the group with positive cultures and the group without positive cultures.

CONCLUSIONS

Having a positive culture in the cpap reservoir does not seem to lead to an increased symptomatology of crs: although the reservoirs often become colonized, there seems to be no clinical impact.