Photo Credit: Selvanegra

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) and interleukin (IL)-4 levels are elevated in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and correlated with increased preoperative fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) levels and decreased sinonasal QOL benefit after functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS), according to a study published in American Journal of Rhinology & Allergy. Stella E. Lee, MD, and colleagues analyzed TSLP and IL-4 levels in mucus, plasma, polyp, inferior, and middle turbinate tissue collected during FESS in patients with CRSwNP and controls. TSLP and IL-4 levels were correlated with the Sino-nasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22), the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test, and FeNO. TSLP levels were elevated in inferior turbinates of CRSwNP patients compared to controls. IL-4 was expressed at elevated levels in inferior and middle turbinates compared to controls. Mucus TSLP and IL-4 positively correlated with preoperative FeNO levels. Lower TSLP in inferior and middle turbinates and lower IL-4 in inferior turbinates correlated with greater improvement in SNOT-22 post-FESS.