Monitoring nasal allergic inflammation by measuring the concentration of eosinophil cationic protein and eosinophils in nasal secretions.

Quantitative measurement of the eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) concentration and the percentage of eosinophils in nasal secretions has greatly improved our understanding of the inflammatory process after natural allergen exposure. ECP and eosinophils were measured in the nasal secretions of 40 symptomatic patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis during the pollen season. Results showed a significant relationship between a high concentration of ECP (median: 410 ng/g, range: 6-2380 ng/g) and a high percentage of eosinophils (median: 13.5%, range: 1-85%). This quantitative study again demonstrated that infiltration by eosinophils and release of ECP play a key role in allergic rhinitis. It also suggests that the combined measurement of the percentage of eosinophils together with the ECP concentration in nasal secretions seems to be a very useful model in monitoring and assessing the condition of chronic nasal inflammation in patients with allergic rhinitis.