RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: To determine the inflammatory profile of CRSwNP in Brazil and characterize the subgroups of CRSwNP patients in this population through cluster analysis. STUDY DESIGN: Multicenter cross-sectional study involving 15 centers representing different regions of Brazil. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Clinical data of 166 patients and 80 controls, aged 18 to 70 years old, number of surgeries for CRS, history of asthma and aspirin sensitivity, and Lund-Mackay scores on CT scans. During nasal endoscopy, we obtained the Lund-Kennedy scores and collected 2 samples of nasal polyps: one for eosinophil and neutrophil tissue counts and one to quantify different cytokines. RESULTS: 79.6% of our patients had 10 or more eosinophils/HPF. CRSwNP groups exhibited significantly lower concentrations of TNF-alpha and significantly higher concentrations of IFN-gamma, CCL11/Eotaxin, CCL24/Eotaxin-2/MPIF-2, and CCL26/Eotaxin-3 versus the control group (Kruskal-Wallis test). Comparison between CRSwNP groups (≥10 vs <10 eosinophils/HPF) showed no difference in cytokine concentration (Mann-Whitney test). Hierarchical clustering and PCA according to cytokine concentrations revealed 2 main Clusters, with a significantly higher concentration of all cytokines in Cluster 1 (n = 35) than in Cluster 2 (n = 121), except IL-6 and IL-33 (Mann-Whitney test). According to ROC curve analysis the best cut-off to differentiate the 2 clusters was 43 eosinophils/HPF. The group with ≥43 presented a higher prevalence of men and a higher Lund-Mackay score (Mann-Whitney test). CONCLUSIONS: CRSwNP patients in Brazil present mixed inflammation, with 2 distinct groups (high and low inflammatory pattern) that can be distinguished by tissue eosinophilia of ≥43 eosinophils/HPF cut-off in nasal polyps.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To describe anatomical landmarks for endoscopic endonasal approaches to the orbital apex and to measure the distances between those landmarks. METHODS: In this anatomic study, the nasal fossae of 30 adult fresh cadavers were dissected (n = 60 half-skulls). One double-injected orbit was carefully dissected, mainly focusing on the neurovascular structures. The orbital apex was dissected under endoscopic endonasal visualization in all cases. The distances between the ethmoidal crest and choanal arch to the optic canal (OC) and superior orbital fissure (SOF) were measured and recorded. RESULTS: The sample was predominantly male (63.3%, 19/30 cadavers). The following correlations between measurements according to side were observed: ethmoidal crest to OC, r = 0.748 (P = 0.0001); ethmoidal crest to SOF, r = 0.785 (P = 0.0001); choanal arch to OC, r = 0.835 (P = 0.0001); choanal arch to SOF, r = 0.820 (P = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: In the cadavers studied in this sample, the ethmoidal crest and choanal arch were relevant structures and exhibited consistent measurements. Spearman correlation coefficients were greater than 0.7, which is indicative of good correlation between measurements obtained in the skull halves of each cadaver. Comparison of the measurements obtained in different sides showed similar values, with no statistically significant differences in the distances between any of the proposed anatomic landmarks.