Clinicopathological correlation between peripheral blood eosinophilia and inferior turbinate tissue eosinophils

Abstract

Background and objectives: Allergic rhinitis affects up to 20% of the general population and is one of the most common reasons for presentations to the outpatient department. We hereby present a case series which attempts to have a correlation between tissue eosinophilia (inferior turbinate) and increased eosinophil count in blood (> 440 cells/mm3). Materials and methods: Thirty-six patients presented to the Outpatient Department of Bapuji Hospital and Chigateri General Hospital (Teaching Hospitals attached to JJM Medical College), Davangere, with nasal obstruction and symptoms suggestive of allergic rhinitis with turbinate hypertrophy who were posted for elective bilateral partial inferior turbinectomy with/without submucous resection/septoplasty. These patients had increased absolute eosinophil count in blood. Formalin fixed inferior turbinectomy specimens were routinely processed for histopathology. Eosinophils in the mucosa and submucosal region were counted by method of Shioda and Mishima. Results: Ten patients out of 36 showing increased eosinophil count in blood show ‘significant eosinophilia’ in turbinates (27.7%). Conclusion: Peripheral eosinophilia does not always correlate with tissue eosinophilia which opens up a possibility of using nasal mucosa biopsy for confirmation of presence of eosinophils. Further studies are needed to explore the demonstration of ‘activated’ tissue eosinophils in the diagnosis of allergic rhinitis.