A comparative study of nasal smear eosinophilia vs absolute eosinophilic count in patients with allergic rhinitis

Abstract

Background: Allergic rhinitis (A.R) is one of the most common chronic conditions affecting patients attending ENT OPD. It has significant impact on the quality of life and productivity of people affected by it. There is no single test which is gold standard for its diagnosis. Objective: To compare the value of Nasal Smear Eosinophilia (NSE) with Absolute Eosinophilic Count (AEC) of peripheral blood as diagnostic test and establish a diagnostic tool for A.R. Methods: 50 patients were taken up for 1 year prospective study and NSE Count and AEC were done. There were 36 patients in study group and 14 patients acted as controls. Allergic rhinitis was diagnosed as per standard criteria and sensitivity and specificity of NSE and AEC as diagnostic tests were calculated. Results: The sensitivity of NSE and AEC were found to be 55.56% and 50% respectively. The specificity was calculated as 71.45% and 64.29%. So both the tests have moderate sensitivity and high specificity. Conclusion: Nasal Smear Eosinophilic Count can be considered as simple, economical and semi invasive diagnostic test for A.R in the peripheral setup.

Keywords

• nasal smear eosinophilia
• allergic rhinitis. absolute eosinophilic count