Detection of herpesviruses 1-6 and community-acquired respiratory viruses in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the prevalence of human herpesviruses (HHV) 1-6 and community-acquired respiratory viruses (CARVs) in specimens from patients with nasal polyposis undergoing functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) and investigate the potential clinical role. METHODS Viral occurrence was evaluated by molecular methods in polyp, turbinate mucosa, and pre- and postoperative scraping specimens from 35 consecutive patients at different time points in relation to FESS. RESULTS Overall, 21 patients (60%) were positive to at least one virus in at least one specimen; in particular, 12.1% of all specimens for HHV-6 (3/35 polyps, 11/31 turbinates, 1 presurgical scraping) and 10.5% for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) (8/35 polyps, 3/31 turbinates, 1/29 pre- and 1/29 postsurgical scraping), followed by CMV and HSV-1 (both 1.6%; 1/35 polyps, 1/29 postsurgical scraping and 2/35 polyps, respectively). EBV positivity tended to be higher in polyps, as well as HHV-6 in adjacent healthy turbinate mucosa, although no significant association was found. Only one preoperative cytological specimen was positive to parainfluenza virus-1. CONCLUSION No association between the development of nasal polyps, herpesviruses and CARVs seems to exist. However, the higher EBV frequency in polyps could suggest a causative role or persistence in the inflammatory lymphoid tissue.