Richard Orgill ‘06

Biofilm in Paranasal Sinus Secretions of Chronic Sinusitis Sufferers

Chronic sinusitis affects 16.3% of the adult American population accounting for 11.6 million doctor visits1.

Surgery is reserved for patients with obstructed paranasal sinuses who have failed maximal medical management, which at minimum includes long-term antimicrobial therapy, nasal irrigation, and nasal steroids. At the time of surgery it is not uncommon to find mucopurulent drainage trapped within the sinus cavities.

Several organisms have been implicated in chronic sinusitis including: Stapholococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus epidermidis as well as anaerobes and gram negative organisms. Many of these organisms are known to form bioflims. Biofilms are groups of quiescent or “sessile” bacteria embedded in a polysaccharide matrix. This is in contrast to the motile, “planktonic” form of bacteria generally thought of as infectious. Bacteria in biofilms are resistant to antibiotic therapy.

Biofilms have recently been implicated in the chronic nature of several diseases. Related sites include: middle ear effusions of patients with cholesteatoma, tonsillar crypts of chronic tonsillitis patients, and pulmonary secretions of cystic fibrosis patients. No studies have described biofilms in the paranasal sinuses. In collaboration with the laboratory of Dr. Richard Chole, Washington University, St. Louis, we will collect sinus secretions from a total of 10 patients with chronic sinusitis refractory to medical management to determine if biofilms are present in specimens under light and electron microscopy.

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Otolaryngology Surgery University of Wisconsin Department of Surgery
First published: 07/15/02 Last updated: 11/24/09 webmaster@surgery.wisc.edu
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