Increased Inflammatory Markers Detected in Nasal Lavage Correlate with Paranasal Sinus Abnormalities at MRI in Adolescent Patients with Cystic Fibrosis
Jaehi Chung,
Felix Wünnemann,
Johanna Salomon,
Sébastien Boutin,
Dario L. Frey,
Tobias Albrecht,
Cornelia Joachim,
Monika Eichinger,
Marcus A. Mall,
Mark O. Wielpütz,
Olaf Sommerburg
Affiliations
Jaehi Chung
Division of Pediatric Pulmonology & Allergy and Cystic Fibrosis Center, Department of Pediatrics III, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 430, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Felix Wünnemann
Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg (TLRC), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Johanna Salomon
Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg (TLRC), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Sébastien Boutin
Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg (TLRC), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Dario L. Frey
Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg (TLRC), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Tobias Albrecht
Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg (TLRC), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Cornelia Joachim
Division of Pediatric Pulmonology & Allergy and Cystic Fibrosis Center, Department of Pediatrics III, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 430, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Monika Eichinger
Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg (TLRC), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Marcus A. Mall
Department of Pediatric Pulmonology, Immunology and Critical Care Medicine and Cystic Fibrosis Center, Charite-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany
Mark O. Wielpütz
Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg (TLRC), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Olaf Sommerburg
Division of Pediatric Pulmonology & Allergy and Cystic Fibrosis Center, Department of Pediatrics III, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 430, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a characteristic feature of cystic fibrosis (CF) multiorgan disease and develops early in the life of patients with CF. The study aimed to correlate the inflammatory markers and the presence of structural abnormalities detected by MRI in the paranasal sinuses of patients with CF. Methods: Nasal lavage and MRI of the paranasal sinuses was performed in a cohort of 30 CF patients (median age 14 y; range 7–20 y). Morphological abnormalities characteristic of CF were evaluated with a dedicated CRS MRI scoring system and correlated with different inflammation parameters measured in nasal lavage. Inflammation of the paranasal sinuses was positively associated with structural abnormalities in MRI. The concentration of the pro-inflammatory markers neutrophil elastase (NE) and the neutrophil elastase/alpha1-antitrypsin (NE/A1AT) complex correlated significantly with CRS-MRI sum score (p r = 0.416 and p r = 0.366, respectively). S. aureus infection was associated with the increased pro-inflammatory cytokine activity of IL-6 and IL-8, and increased levels of NE/A1AT complex in our patients (p < 0.05, respectively). CRS-MRI sum score and individual sinus MRI scores were positively associated with inflammatory activity as a sign of CRS pathology present in CF.
