Objective: Chronic rhinosinusitis results in significant morbidity in the pediatric population; however, no predisposing factor is found in many cases. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a recognized cause of chronic rhinosinusitis. Although the carrier frequency for CF ranges from 3% to 4% in the general white population, the prevalence of mutations in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) among children with chronic rhinosinusitis is unknown. Our objective was to study the frequency of CFTR mutations among children with chronic rhinosinusitis.
Methods: Fifty-eight white children who were from the St Louis metropolitan area and had chronic rhinosinusitis, none of whom satisfied diagnostic criteria for CF, underwent sweat testing and genotyping for CFTR mutations using an assay that detects 90% of mutations seen in this ethnic group.
Results: Seven of the 58 patients (12.1%) tested harbored CFTR mutations as compared with the expected rate of 3% to 4% in this ethnic group. Five patients had the DeltaF508, 1 had the R117H, and 1 had the I148T mutation. Only 1 of the 7 children had a borderline abnormal sweat test. Two of the 58 patients experienced recurrent Pseudomonas aeruginosa rhinosinusitis, and both were DeltaF508 heterozygotes. Three other children with no detectable CFTR mutation had borderline elevated sweat-test results. The CFTR intron 8 5T polymorphism was found at a frequency comparable to that reported for the general population.
Conclusion: There is an increased occurrence of CFTR mutations in children who have chronic rhinosinusitis and do not meet diagnostic criteria for CF, usually in the setting of a normal sweat chloride. These results suggest a role for CFTR mutations in predisposition to chronic rhinosinusitis.