Microbiologic analyses of nasal polyp tissue

• Published in: Journal of allergy and clinical immunology Vol. 78; no. 1 Pt 1; p. 102
• Main Authors: Dunnette, S L, Hall, M M, Washington, 2nd, J A, Kern, E B, McDonald, T J, Facer, G W, Gleich, G J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-07-1986
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Asthma - drug therapy; Asthma - microbiology; Bacteria, Aerobic - isolation & purification; Bacteria, Anaerobic - isolation & purification; Eosinophils; Fungi - isolation & purification; Humans; Leukocyte Count; Middle Aged; Nasal Polyps - microbiology; Neutrophils
• ISSN: 0091-6749
• DOI: 10.1016/0091-6749(86)90121-1

Nasal polyps from 40 patients were cultured within 2 1/2 hours after surgical removal to determine whether microorganisms were present. The first 20 polyps were cultured for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, viruses, fungi, mycoplasmas, and mycobacteria. Of these 20 polyps, eight were sterile by all tests, one grew Cryptococcus albidus, one grew Sporobolomyces, one had large numbers of Peptostreptococcus micros and Propionibacterium acnes, greater than 10(6) colony-forming units per gram (cfu/gm), and nine had aerobic bacteria including 10 different species at levels less than 10(5) cfu/gm. The second 20 polyps were cultured for aerobic bacteria only; 11 polyps were positive. Overall, 14 of 26 polyps from patients with asthma and two of 14 polyps from patients without asthma were positive for aerobic bacteria at levels greater than 10(3) cfu/gm (p less than 0.05). Multiple aerobic bacterial species tended to occur in polyps from patients with asthma (11 of 26) more frequently than in those from patients without asthma (one of 14) (p less than 0.01). There was a highly significant positive correlation between tissue neutrophilia and bacterial count (r = +0.9; p less than 0.001). The results indicate that patients with asthma have a significantly higher number and a tendency to a greater variety of aerobic bacteria in nasal polyp tissue than patients without asthma and that the number of infiltrating neutrophils is directly related to the number of bacteria.