Clinical Study to Improve Diagnosis and Treatment of Sinusitis

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is the most common chronic medical condition that affects Americans between 18-44 years of age. While significant advances have been made in the understanding of the molecular pathogenesis underlying many subtypes of CRS, this has not translated into widespread changes in how physicians manage adult or pediatric CRS. The focus of this study is intended to develop testing methods to improve the objectivity and specificity of diagnosis and allow for individualized therapy with less invasive, customized treatments instead of the traditional, empiric based, and radically exenterative therapies commonly employed in clinical practice. Specifically, it is now known that many patients with CRS have a greater concentration of non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI) in the bacterial biofilms located within their sinus cavities compared to healthy patients. The specific hypothesis behind the proposed research is that the presence of NTHI biofilms, which are known to be highly recalcitrant, are positively correlated with the development of CRS and that unique lipooligosaccharides and inflammatory byproducts obtained from nasopharyngeal lavage fluids and/or swabs of sinus secretions may be used as a non-invasive biomarker for CRS. As a result, patients with symptoms of CRS specifically associated with NTHI biofilms could possibly obtain a non-invasive test in the physician's office that would allow the clinician to make a more accurate diagnosis and objectively follow each patient's responsiveness to customized therapy.