Frequency of inflammatory cell types in polyps of patients with diffuse sinonasal polyposis and association with effective factors in recurrence

 Sinonasal polyposis (SNP) is a chronic disease of nasal and paranasal sinus mucosa. Nasal polyps can be divided into two groups based on inflammatory cells’ types, namely eosinophilic and neutrophilic polyps. Eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis responds to corticosteroids; however, this response is less in the neutrophilic type.

 The present study aimed to determine the frequency of inflammatory cell types in the polyp tissue of patients with diffuse SNP and its association with effective factors in recurrence.

 This cross-sectional study was carried out on 130 patients with diffuse SNP referring to the Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) clinics of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran, using random sampling. The severity of the disease was assessed by the Sinonasal Outcome Test 20 (SNOT-20) questionnaire filled out by an ENT surgeon. Computed tomography scans were graded by the Lund-Mackay score. The variety of the cells were determined following hematoxylin-eosin staining and pathologist light microscopy examination; then, the obtained data were statistically evaluated and their associations with the previously known factors of recurrence in other studies were reported.

 The most frequent cells were eosinophils, and mast cells showed the lowest frequency of inflammatory cells in the polyps of patients with diffuse SNP. Eosinophilic polyps were more common in female patients. There was no significant difference between inflammatory cells associated with age, history of surgery, and SNOT-20 score. A significant relationship was only observed between the Lund-Mackay scores of neutrophil and mast cell counts in polyps.

 The investigation of the dominant inflammatory cell in the histopathology sample of the sinonasal polyps can help in tracking and rationalizing patient management and expectations.