Comparison of subjective and objective assessment of glucocorticoid response in nasal polyps: a preliminary study.

BACKGROUND: Glucocorticoids (GC) therapeutic response in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) varies markedly.

AIMS/OBJECTIVES: To compare the utility between subjective and objective assessment of GC sensitivity in reflecting the impact of GC on systemic and local eosinophilia in CRSwNP patients.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty-six patients with CRSwNP were enrolled. All patients were given 30 mg of prednisone once daily for 7 days and subsequently classified into subjectively GC-sensitive and -insensitive subgroup or objectively GC-sensitive and -insensitive subgroup. The numbers of eosinophils and neutrophils in blood and polyp tissues were compared between GC-sensitive and GC-insensitive subgroup.

RESULTS: 17/26 (65.4%) patients were subjectively and 8/26 (30.8%) patients objectively sensitive to GC treatment. The absolute number and percentage of eosinophils in blood were decreased both in GC-sensitive and -insensitive subjects after GC treatment. In addition, a significant reduction in tissue eosinophil percentage was only observed in objectively GC-sensitive subjects after GC treatment. Furthermore, the change of tissue eosinophil percentage in objectively GC-sensitive subjects was significantly higher than that in objectively GC-insensitive subjects.

CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: Objective assessment may better reflect oral GC response in tissue eosinophilic inflammation than subjective assessment in patients with CRSwNP.