MICROBIOME PROFILING AND TREATMENT OUTCOMES IN CHRONIC RHINOSINUSITIS: A LONGITUDINAL COHORT STUDY
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Keywords
Chronic rhinosinusitis, microbiome, treatment outcomes, longitudinal study
Abstract
Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) persists as an inflammation of the sinonasal mucosa and regularly brings microbial dysbiosis with it. Scientific research currently demonstrates that thetical microbiome exists in the sinonasal region where it functions as both a disease-forming and treatment-responding mechanism. The study of temporal nasal microbial variations enables clinicians to build individualized therapeutic approaches and forecast disease results in patients with CRS.
Objectives: The study evaluates both temporal modifications of sinonasal microbial communities alongside their relationship to therapeutic outcomes among patients diagnosed with chronic rhinosinusitis.
Study design: A prospective cohort study,
Place: Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar Pakistan
Duration of study. January 2021 to July 2021
Methods: This prospective study project tracked adult CRS patients (n=50) for one year to obtain data. The research team obtained 16S rRNA gene sequencing data from nasal swab samples at three-time points: baseline and both 6 months and 12 months. The clinical assessment relied on Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22) scoring. A combination of alpha and beta diversity metrics together with treatment response associations were included in data analysis. Statistical significance was defined as p<0.05.
Results: The study included fifty patients with a mean age of 43.8 ± 11.2 years and six per cent female participants. The patients with favourable treatment outcomes presented higher microbial diversity at follow-up which reached statistical significance (p=0.02). Corynebacterium along with Dolosigranulum increased in abundance among those who responded to treatment but Staphylococcus aureus remained stable in non-responders. The analysis of beta diversity demonstrated microbial community changes that occurred with clinical improvements but this transformation reached significance (p=0.03) indicating a potential therapeutic effect of modifying the microbiome in CRS management strategies.
Conclusion: This study shows the association between chronic rhinosinusitis treatment outcome measures and shifts that occur progressively in sinonasal microbial populations. Microbial diversity increases in combination with particular taxa that function as biomarkers to indicate positive treatment results. Microbiome profiling serves as a promising tool for precision medicine in CRS because it helps identify successful treatments and design improved intervention strategies.
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Imran Khan
Assistant Professor ENT Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar
Shakir Ullah
Assistant Professor ENT Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar
Arif Ahmad
Senior House officer ENT University Hospital Waterford Ireland
Waseem Khan
Assistant Professor ENT Gajju Khan Medical College Swabi Pakistan
Asad Ullah
Assistant Professor ENT Swat Teaching & Medical Complex Saidu Sharif Swat Pakistan
Sami Ullah
Registrar ENT College of Medicine & Dentistry at the hills Abottabad