Abstract
Nasal smear is a valid method used to distinguish inflammatory and non-inflammatory conditions. The present study was conducted to evaluate the cytological picture and neutrophilic infiltration of nasal secretions of children from a primary school within Enugu metropolis in Enugu State, Nigeria. The study included 100 apparently normal pupils, 20 each from grade levels 1 to 5. The blow-out technique was used to obtain samples from the nasal cavity for smear preparation on slides. May-Grunwald-Giemsa was used to stain the smears for light microscopical examination. Smears were assessed for the presence of infiltrating inflammatory cells and a semi-quantitative grading of neutrophilic infiltration was conducted on each sample to indicate either absent, few, moderate or many. Mean age of participants is 6.25±0.44 years (range: 6–11 years). Results revealed that age and grade level of study had a strong association with the grade score of neutrophilic infiltration (p<0.05). Grade level 1 pupils, the youngest group (mean age: 6.25±0.44 years), had the highest abnormal cytological picture and neutrophilic infiltration while those in grade levels 3 to 5 who were older, were lower. There was no association between gender and neutrophilic infiltration. It can be concluded that significantly increased neutrophilic infiltration are obtained in the nasal secretions of younger schoolchildren below the age of 9 than the older pupils. This study also indicates that the blow-out method is a useful technique for obtaining nasal secretions for the assessment of infiltrating cells.
Highlights
The nose is part of the respiratory system, and it is accessible for evaluation, either morphological or pathophysiological
Children greater than 8 years of age had a higher frequency of normal cytological picture unlike those of younger age
The present study performed among pupils in a primary school in Enugu metropolis has shown that there were distinctive differences in the grading scores of neutrophilic infiltrations in the nasal secretion
Summary
The nose is part of the respiratory system, and it is accessible for evaluation, either morphological or pathophysiological. Morphological changes in the nasal mucosa are of interest in the routine clinical examination of lesions and infections and for researchoriented studies [1]. The nasal and paranasal sinus mucosa are directly exposed to air born allergens, making them the most common shock organs of nasal allergy and inflammatory diseases. The evaluation of the cells located within the nasal septum is achieved by obtaining a nasal smear. Since nasal smear has been employed for several years in the detection of cellular changes of the epithelium caused by either physical or chemical inflammation [4], it has become a valuable diagnostic tool in both clinical and research studies, enhancing the study of nasal disorders such as rhinitis, sinusitis, and nasal polyps [5]. The major limitation to this technique is its standardization to be used as a reproducible methodology [6]
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