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. 2018 Mar;70(1):87-91.
doi: 10.1007/s12070-017-1153-y. Epub 2017 Jul 20.

Clarithromycin in the Management of Chronic Rhinosinusitis: Preliminary Results of a Possible Its New Use

F Sireci  1 , R Speciale  1 , S Gallina  1 , R Sorrentino  2 , F R Canevari  2
Affiliations

Clarithromycin in the Management of Chronic Rhinosinusitis: Preliminary Results of a Possible Its New Use

F Sireci et al. Indian J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2018 Mar.

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of prolonged therapy with low-dose clarithromycin in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with polyps (CRSwP) after endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). A total of 10 patients with CRSwP were identified and subjected to bilateral ESS. In post-operative patients they were treated with nasal wash with saline solution and steroid sprays (beclomethasone). During follow-up, after 30-40 days after the operation (M = 35.4 SD = +4.33), patients reported a worsening of symptoms with onset of nasal obstruction; reduction/loss of smell; headache; onset of viscous secretions and therefore all patients continued therapy with saline nasal irrigation, topical steroid therapy and started macrolide (clarithromycin 500 mg/pill: 1 pill/day for 3 days a week for 1 month). 22-item SinoNasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) and a score to the endoscopic evaluation (endoscopic appearance score, EAS) before and after treatment were performed to evaluate efficacy of treatment. The results of the SNOT-22 and EAS showed statistically significant improvements (p < 0.05) for some parameters such as: the need to blow nose, sneezing, hyposmia, viscous mucous secretions about the SNOT-22 and reduction of secretions and edema of the nasal mucosa about the EAS. The preliminary results of our study show that the low-dose clarithromycin for a period of 1 month can improve patient complaints with CRSwP not only through the antibacterial properties but also for the immunomodulatory characteristics.

Keywords: Chronic rhinosinusitis with polyps; Clarithromycin; Eosinophil.

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Conflict of interest statement

Compliance with Ethical StandardsThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest in the preparation of this article.Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000.

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