A Study on Utility of Nasal Smear Examination in Diagnosing Allergic Rhinitis and Its Histopathological Correlation in Allergic Nasal Polyps

One of the simple and economical diagnostic methods in detecting nasal allergic disorders is cytological examination of nasal smears. This study was conducted to evaluate the usefulness of nasal cytology in individuals suffering from allergic nasal disorders, including allergic nasal polyps with special interest on cytohistological correlation in case of allergic nasal polyps. Effort is also made to compare the nasal smear eosinophilia with that of peripheral blood absolute eosinophil count in allergic nasal disorder. Fifty patients with clinical features suggestive of nasal allergy were enrolled for this study. Twenty patients out of this showed nasal polyp on examination. Twenty five controls (group 2) were considered in this study without any history of allergy. Investigations like differential count for eosinophils, Absolute eosinophil count (AEC), and nasal smear examination were carried out for all patients including control group. Nasal smears were examined by light microscopy after staining with Leishman and H&E stain. Nasal polyps were surgically removed under general anaesthesia for histological examination. Nasal smear eosinophilia were compared with peripheral blood eosinophilia in all cases and also compared with eosinophilia in histological sections in cases with nasal polyps. Nasal eosinophilia was seen in 90% and Blood eosinophilia was seen in 94% of cases of clinically diagnosed allergic rhinitis. There was a good correlation of nasal smear eosinophilia with blood AEC in allergic rhinitis and with histological findings in cases of allergic nasal polyps. Nasal smear cytology is a simple, cost effective screening test to determine the presence or absence of allergic tissue response in conditions like allergic rhinitis and allergic nasal polyps. It has a good correlation with peripheral blood eosinophilia and histological findings in cases of allergic nasal polyps.