The possible association of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection with nasal polyps

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the possible etiologic role of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in nasal polyps. This prospective clinical study was undertaken enrolling 30 patients with nasal polyps, and 30 age and sex-matched control subjects from whom epithelial material was obtained during endoscopic surgery. IgG specific ELISA was used to determine seropositivity, and indirect immunoflorescence to determine C. pneumoniae in the biopsy material. C pneumoniae specific IgG antibodies were found to be positive in 16 (53.3%) of the patients with nasal polyps, and 9 (22%) of the control subjects (P = 0.065). Indirect immunofluorescence results indicate that there was a significant difference between groups; 16 (53.3%) patients in the study group and,8 (26.6%) patients in the control group were found to be positive (P = 0.034). We found no correlation with cigarette smoking. Our results indicated that Chlamydia pneumoniae is possibly associated with the presence of nasal polyps. However, these results remain to be confirmed with further studies using other techniques, and the underlying mechanism should be defined.