Bacterial biofilms in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis: a confocal scanning laser microscopy study

Abstract

Background: Recent research into the pathophysiology of chronic rhinosinusitis suggests an important role for biofilms. They can be detected in both healthy and diseased nasal mucosa. Several different methods of detecting biofilms have been described. This study investigates the presence of biofilm in a larger group of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis undergoing primary functional endoscopic surgery.

Methods: Sixty-one patients with chronic rhinosinusitis and 25 controls, with septal deviation, were included from 2010 to 2012. Endonasal biopsies were harvested during surgery, snap frozen in isopentane, cooled on dry ice and stored at -80oC. The samples were prepared with Invitrogens’ BacLight LiveDead kit, and investigated with confocal scanning laser microscopy for the presence of biofilm.

Results: In the chronic rhinosinusitis group 55/61 were biofilm positive as opposed to 14/25 in the control group. The difference was highly significant. The odds ratio was 7.2.

Conclusion: Patients with chronic rhinosinusitis have a highly significant increased point prevalence of biofilms compared to controls.