Objective To explore the mechanism by which She-Ti-Zhi-Qiu decoction alleviates allergic rhinitis (AR) through gut microbiota-mediated regulation of T helper cell 17(Th17)/regulatory T cells(Treg) balance and related cytokines. Methods Twenty-eight female SD rats were randomly divided into four groups: the Control group, Model group, STZQ group, and Probiotics group. Except for the Control group, all other groups were sensitized with ovalbumin (OVA) to establish AR models. The Control and Model groups received intragastric administration of normal saline, while the STZQ group was administered She-Ti-Zhi-Qiu Decoction, and Probiotics group received probiotics. After two weeks of continuous intragastric administration, nasal mucosa, serum, peripheral blood, and colon contents were collected. The inflammation of nasal mucosal tissue was assessed via HE staining. 16S rDNA sequencing was used to detect and analyze the structure and content of bacteria in colon contents. Flow cytometry was used to detect the relative proportions of Treg and Th17 cells in peripheral blood. ELISA was used to measure the levels of Th17- and Treg-related cytokines in serum. Results Compared with the Control group, the Model group showed an inflammatory response in nasal mucosal tissue, along with increased IL-17A and IL-17E levels and decreased IL-10 levels. The percentage of Th17 cells in peripheral blood increased, while the percentage of Treg cells decreased. Beneficial bacteria in the intestine were decreased, while pathogenic bacteria were increased. Compared with the Model group, the STZQ group showed lower serum IL-17A and IL-17E levels and higher IL-10 levels. The percentage of Th17 in peripheral blood decreased, while the percentage of Treg increased. There was an increase in beneficial bacteria in the intestine and a decrease in pathogenic bacteria. The changes in the microbiota were correlated with IL-17A, IL-17E, and IL-10 levels. Conclusion She-Ti-Zhi-Qiu decoction can ameliorate the inflammation of AR by regulating gut microbiota and Th17/Treg immune balance.
Animals ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory/drug effects* ; Th17 Cells/drug effects* ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/drug effects* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Female ; Rhinitis, Allergic/microbiology* ; Rats ; Cytokines

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps（CRSwNP） represents a prevalent inflammatory disorder, which is often accompanied by nasal congestion, mucopurulent discharge, olfactory dysfunction, dizziness, and headache. Staphylococcus aureus（SA）, a predominant opportunistic pathogen within the sinonasal microenvironment, has been implicated in modulating the pathogenesis and progression of CRSwNP through multifaceted mechanisms. The physiological activities of SA-dependent quorum-sensing system and biofilm in the nasal microenvironment, including interactions with host, fungi, viruses, and other bacteria, as well as the effects of important superantigens secreted by SA on the microenvironment and immune barrier, are briefly reviewed in this article. These insights provide theoretical foundations for elucidating CRSwNP mechanisms and advancing clinical therapeutic strategies.
Humans ; Sinusitis/microbiology* ; Nasal Polyps/microbiology* ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Chronic Disease ; Rhinitis/microbiology* ; Staphylococcal Infections/microbiology* ; Quorum Sensing ; Biofilms ; Rhinosinusitis

Objective To analyze the risk factors of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis.Methods The clinical data of 221 patients with chronic rhinosinusitis who were treated in our center from January 2010 to January 2017 were collected retrospectively. Specimens were collected for bacterial culture and antibiotic susceptibility testing. The risk factors for multidrug-resistant bacterial infections were analyzed.Results Univariate analysis showed that combined use of 3 or more antibiotics,high visual analogue scale score,high Lund-Kennedy score,long disease course(>5 years),high frequency of acute infections(more than 3 times a year),long duration of acute infection(>7 days),recurrent upper respiratory tract infections(>3 times per year),chronic otitis media,smoking history,allergic rhinitis,poor drainage,high frequency of antimicrobial use(≥3 times/year),use of multiple antibiotics(more than 3 types),aged over 60 years,and use of antibacterial drugs for over 7 days were the risk factors for production of multi-drug-resistant organism(MDRO) in patients with chronic sinusitis(all P<0.05). After adjusting for other factors,combined use of 3 or more antibiotics,high frequency of acute infections(more than 3 times a year),recurrent upper respiratory tract infections(>3 times per year),smoking history,allergic rhinitis,poor drainage,and high frequency of antimicrobial use(≥3 times/year) remained the risk factors for MDRO in patients with chronic sinusitis(all P<0.05).Conclusions Multidrug-resistant bacterial infections in patients with chronic sinusitis can be caused by a variety of factors. In the clinical practice,by focusing on the major risk factors,a comprehensive management strategy should be adopted to reduce the production of MDRO and improve the therapeutic outcomes.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Bacterial Infections ; complications ; Chronic Disease ; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Rhinitis ; microbiology ; Risk Factors ; Sinusitis ; microbiology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the photodynamic therapy (PDT) against multi-antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (S.epidermidis) obtained from patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS).

METHODSForty-five CRS patients who had been given medical treatment but still needed endoscopic surgery were included in this study. The mucus from middle meatus was collected from these patients during surgery, followed by separation of S. aureus and S. epidermidis and drug sensitive test. The strains which could form biofilm were selected. Light emitting diode (LED) array with a major wavelength of (633±10) nm was used as light source and 5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA) was used as photosensitizer in this PDT experiment. The safe range of LED dose and ALA concentration which were not toxic to bacteria by themselves were confirmed, and then did PDT experiment on S. aureus and S. epidermidis. The data of bacterial colony forming unit were transformed to lgCFU before statistical analysis.The Graph Pad Prism 5 software was used to analyzed the data.

RESULTSThirteen S. aureus and 16 S. epidermidis were included in this experiment(from 45 patients), all of them were multi-antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and four of S. aureus and five of S. epidermidis could form biofilm in each group. In planktonic S. aureus experiment, the mean lgCFU was 8.32±0.31 in control group whereas the experiment group was 6.47±0.67 (t=9.01, P<0.01), and in planktonic S. epidermidis experiment the final data was 8.34±0.20 (control group) and 6.97±0.59 (experiment group) (t=8.84, P<0.01). In biofilm S. aureus experiment, the mean lgCFU was 8.68±0.05 (control group), 6.90±0.96(experiment group) (t=3.68, P<0.05); and in biofilm S. epidermidis experiment the data was 8.67±0.05 (control group), 7.29±0.61 (experiment group, t=5.07, P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONOur results demonstrated that ALA-mediated PDT on multi-antibiotic-resistant S. aureus and S. epidermidis from CRS patients was effective in vitro. Additional work defining if the PDT treatment would damage the nasal mucosa and further checking the effectiveness of PDT in vivo is still needed.

Aminolevulinic Acid ; therapeutic use ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Biofilms ; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial ; Humans ; Light ; Photochemotherapy ; Photosensitizing Agents ; therapeutic use ; Rhinitis ; drug therapy ; microbiology ; Sinusitis ; drug therapy ; microbiology ; Staphylococcal Infections ; complications ; drug therapy ; Staphylococcus

OBJECTIVE: To study the distribution and drug sensitivity test of bacteria of patients on chronic rhinosinusitis with or without nasal polyps. METHOD: The purulent discharges were collected from sinus of 175 patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with or without nasal polyps during endoscopic sinus surgery. The results of germiculture and drug sensitivity test were analyzed. RESULT: From 175 specimens, 118 (67%) showed positive results in germiculture. Among them, 79 strains of gram positive bacteria and 39 strains of gram negative bacteria were detected. Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus haemolyticus were the most common pathogens in gram positive bacteria. The most common pathogens of gram negative bacteria were P. Aeruginosa, Enterobacter aerogenes, Enterobacter cloacae. The sensitive antibiotic on gram positive bacteria were amikacin, Daptomycin, Linezolid, vancomycin, teicoplanin, amoxicillin and clavulanate potassium, cefuroxime, respectively. The sensitive antibiotics on Gram negative bacteria were amikacin, Cefoperazone/sulbactam and imipenem, ceftazidime ceftazidime, aztreonam, levofloxacin, respectively. CONCLUSION Bacterial infection was common happened in the sinus cavity of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with or without nasal polyps. Gram positive bacteria were the main pathogenic bacteria and gram positive bacteria and gram negative bacteria have great differences in the sensitivity of antibiotics. For patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, the using of antibiotics should depend on the drug sensitivity test.
Bacterial Infections ; complications ; drug therapy ; Gram-Negative Bacteria ; drug effects ; Gram-Positive Bacteria ; drug effects ; Humans ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Nasal Polyps ; microbiology ; Rhinitis ; microbiology ; Sinusitis ; microbiology

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical features of fungal rhino-sinusitis. METHOD: Clinical data of 189 patients suffering from fungal rhino-sinusitis treated by functional endoscopic sinus surgery was analyzed retrospectively. The analyzed data included clinical type, age of onset, predilectionsite, reason, and surgical outcome. RESULT: Among the 189 patients with fungal rhino-sinusitis,181 cases were fungal ball,6 cases were allergic fungal rhino-sinusitis, 1 case was acute invasive fungnal rhino-sinusitis, 1 case was chronic invasive fungnal rhino-sinusitis. One hundred and twenty-eight cases were in the maxillary sinus (123 cases were unilateral, 5 cases were bilateral). Nineteen cases were in the ethmoid sinus. 31 cases were in the sphenoid sinus. Two cases were both in the maxillary sinus and ethmoid sinus, 1 case was both in the maxillary sinus and sphenoid sinus. Two cases invasive fungnal rhino-sinusitis had diabetes history. All the patients treated by functional endoscopic sinus surgery, 184 cases without recurrence, 5 cases suffered re-operation. CONCLUSION The incidence of fungal rhinosinusitis is showing a rising trend, fungal ball is the highest. The sinusitis patients whom we highly doubt for fungal infection should be confirmed by using sinonasal secretion smear, cultivation and histopathological examination. Surgical treatment should completely remove the fungal masses, to avoid reoperation.
Chronic Disease ; Emotions ; Ethmoid Sinus ; pathology ; Fungi ; Humans ; Maxillary Sinus ; pathology ; Mycoses ; pathology ; surgery ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Rhinitis ; microbiology ; surgery ; Sinusitis ; microbiology ; surgery ; Sphenoid Sinus ; pathology

OBJECTIVE: To determine the distribution of bacteria in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, and to compare the bacteriologic features in middle meatus specimens between patients with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and patients without nasal polyps (CRSsNP). 
 METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the positive rate and types of bacterial culture in middle meatus specimens from 40 controls, 65 patients with CRSwNP, and 72 patients of CRSsNP. The specimens from the middle meatus were obtained during endoscopic sinus surgery.
 RESULTS: The positive rates of bacteria for CRSwNP, CRSsNP and the controls 81.9%, 80.0% and 82.5%, respectively, with no significant difference among the 3 groups. The common aerobe bacteria found in the specimens was Coagulase-negative staphylococci, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus and Corynebacterium. The common anaerobe was Fusobacterium. The positive rates for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria showed no significant differences among the 3 groups.
 CONCLUSION The distribution of bacteria in middle meatus specimens is not significantly different among CRSwNP, CRSsNP and the controls. Therefore, bacterial infection may not play a key role in the pathogenesis of CRS patients with and without nasal polyos.
Bacterial Infections ; diagnosis ; Case-Control Studies ; Chronic Disease ; Corynebacterium ; isolation & purification ; Endoscopy ; Fusobacterium ; isolation & purification ; Humans ; Nasal Polyps ; microbiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Rhinitis ; microbiology ; Sinusitis ; microbiology ; Staphylococcus aureus ; isolation & purification ; Streptococcus ; isolation & purification

Congresses as Topic ; Humans ; Infection ; Nose Diseases ; microbiology ; Nose Neoplasms ; Rhinitis, Allergic ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a common disease in otolaryngology, and with the development of the therapy technology, most of the cases have reached a cure. But there are still some intractable cases in clinic, signs and symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis of which still persist after the standardized drugs and technically adequate endoscopic sinus surgery, and this part is clinically named refractory chronic rhinosinusitis (RCRS). In recent studies of the pathogenesis of RCRS, bacterial biofilm (BBF) is attracting more attention. The main emphasis of this review will be to highlight the biological characteristics of BBF, the relationship of BBF and CRS and treatment strategies of BBF positive CRS.
Biofilms ; Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Rhinitis ; etiology ; microbiology ; Sinusitis ; etiology ; microbiology

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical and pathological manifestation, prognosis of unilateral allergic fungal sinusitis (AFS), and to analyze the characters and treatment paradigm of unilateral AFS. METHOD: Clinical and pathological information of 10 cases of unilateral AFS were analyzed. Nasal endoscopy, skin prick test, and visual analogue score (VAS) of severity of illness were taken before surgery. Mucosa membrane and inspissated secretion obtained during endoscopic surgery were stained with hematoxylin-eosin and silver hexosamine. Regular clean of sinus and intranasal steroid spray were taken after surgery. RESULT: Endoscopy showed that 5 cases had pale mucous membranes in the ipsilateral nasal cavity. Skin prick test was positive in all patients. Nasal CT scan demonstrated unilateral lesion in all 10 patients. In the involved sinus, all 10 patients had brown or yellow brown viscous secretion, which demonstrated eosinophilic amorphous mass with accumulation of eosinophils, Charcot-Leyden crystallization and fungal hyphae under microscope. The number of eosinophils in lamina propria of sinus mucosa membrane was 72 +/- 11/hpf. After follow-up for 16 to 26 months(mean 22 months), 9 cases were cured and 1 improved. The pre-operative VAS was 8.5 +/- 1.2, and the post-operative VAS was 1.1 +/- 1.0 (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION The systemic and local allergic reaction may co-exist in unilateral AFS, in which local hypersensitivity may be the dominant reaction. Endoscopic sinus surgery and intranasal steroid spray are effective in the treatment of unilateral AFS.
Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mycoses ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Rhinitis, Allergic ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; therapy ; Sinusitis ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; therapy