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Azithromycin for the Treatment of Eosinophilic Nasal Polyposis: Clinical and Histologic Analysis
oleh: Isamara Simas de Oliveira M.D., Paulo Fernando Tormin Borges Crosara Ph.D., Geovanni Dantas Cassali Ph.D., Diego Carlos dos Reis M.D., Danilo Santana Rodrigues M.D., Flavio Barbosa Nunes Ph.D., Roberto Eustáquio Santos Guimarães Ph.D.
| Format: | Article |
|---|---|
| Diterbitkan: | SAGE Publishing 2016-06-01 |
Deskripsi
Introduction Macrolides used as immunomodulators are a promising tool for chronic inflammatory airway diseases. Eosinophilic nasal polyposis (ENP) is still considered a disease that is difficult to control with the currently standardized treatments. Objectives To evaluate prolonged treatment with low-dose azithromycin for ENP based on clinical and histopathologic variables. Methods The present investigation was a self-paired case study of 33 patients with ENP. A comparison was performed between patients before and after treatment with azithromycin for 8 weeks. The patients were subjected to clinical examinations, staging (three-dimensional imaging by endoscopy), application of the questionnaire, and biopsy of nasal polyps at the beginning and at the end of the treatment. Results The treatment yielded a clinical improvement regarding the two variables studied: polyposis staging (69.7%) and questionnaire (57.6%). We did not find significant differences in the inflammatory pattern and in the percentage or absolute number of eosinophils per field between samples obtained before and after the treatment (p > 0.05). There was no difference between the answers obtained from groups with and without asthma and/or aspirin intolerance (p > 0.3). The patients with advanced initial staging exhibited lower subjective improvement index and staging reduction (p = 0.031 and p = 0.012, respectively). Conclusion Based on this study, azithromycin may be considered as another therapeutic option for ENP. However, further studies are necessary to define the real mechanism of action involved.