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CC BY 4.0 · Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2025; 29(02): s00441801316
DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1801316
Original Research

Blood IgE and Eosinophils are not Reliable Predictors of Nasal Tissue Eosinophils in Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyposis

Authors

  • Judy Fan 

    1   Division of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

  • William Daniels

    1   Division of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

  • Athenea Pascual

    1   Division of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

  • Changwan Ryu

    1   Division of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

  • Masih Sarafan

    1   Division of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

  • Miguel Soares Tepedino

    2   Ear, Nose and Throat Research Lab, Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
    3   Department of Otolaryngology, Policlinica de Botafogo, Rhinology and Skull Base Division, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

  • Richard Louis Voegels

    4   Department of Ophthalmology and Otorhinolaryngology, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

  • Marco Aurélio Fornazieri

    5   Department of Clinical Surgery, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brazil

  • Don Sin

    6   Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

  • Rogério Pezato

    1   Division of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
    4   Department of Ophthalmology and Otorhinolaryngology, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

  • Andrew Thamboo

    1   Division of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Funding The authors declare that they did not receive financial support from agencies in the public, private, or non-profit sectors to conduct the present study.
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Abstract

Introduction Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) is a chronic inflammatory condition of the paranasal sinuses that is mainly associated with type-2 inflammation. Immunoglobulin E (IgE) and eosinophils in blood and nasal tissue have been suggested as biomarkers for the prognosis and severity of CRSwNP as well as indications for biological treatment.

Objective The present study aims to assess the relationships between blood IgE concentration, blood eosinophil count, and nasal polyp eosinophil count in CRSwNP patients.

Methods The present study is retrospective. Nasal polyps from CRSwNP patients (n = 73) were fixed and embedded in paraffin for hematoxylin and eosin stain. Blood was collected to measure IgE concentration and eosinophil count.

Results Weak correlations were found between blood and tissue eosinophil counts (p = 0.004, r = 0.367) as well as blood IgE concentration and blood eosinophil count (p = 0.007, r = 0.372). There was no statistically significant correlation between blood IgE concentration and tissue eosinophil count. When dividing patients based on nasal polyp eosinophil count, blood eosinophil level was higher in the severely eosinophilic group than in the mildly eosinophilic group (p = 0.002).

Conclusion Blood IgE and eosinophils are not reliable biomarkers to predict the inflammatory condition in CRSwNP. Further research is needed on the clinical roles of these biomarkers.

Keywords

rhinosinusitis - nasal polyps - inflammation - immunoglobulin E - eosinophils

Ethical Considerations

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution of the University of British Columbia—Providence Health Care Research Ethics Board (H19-00249), University of São Paulo CAAE (82294118500005505), and the Declaration of Helsinki and International Conference on Harmonization Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice.




Publication History

Received: 21 February 2024

Accepted: 09 October 2024

Article published online:
15 April 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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Bibliographical Record
Judy Fan, William Daniels, Athenea Pascual, Changwan Ryu, Masih Sarafan, Miguel Soares Tepedino, Richard Louis Voegels, Marco Aurélio Fornazieri, Don Sin, Rogério Pezato, Andrew Thamboo. Blood IgE and Eosinophils are not Reliable Predictors of Nasal Tissue Eosinophils in Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyposis. Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2025; 29: s00441801316.
DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1801316