Possible Role of Helicobacter pylori in Ear Nose and Throat Diseases

Zaki F Aref; Shamardan Ezzeldin Sayed Bazeed; Asmaa Nafady; Dalia Fahim Mohammed Fahim; Ali A Ghweil; Mennatallah Ali Abdelrhman Sayed; Heba Mohammad Qubaisy; Mahmoud Khalefa; Usama A Arafa; Badawy Shahat Badawy; Ahmed Shawkat Abdelmohsen; Mohammed H Hassan; Aida A Abdelmaksoud

doi:10.2147/IDR.S411867

Possible Role of Helicobacter pylori in Ear Nose and Throat Diseases

Infect Drug Resist. 2023 Jun 2:16:3497-3509. doi: 10.2147/IDR.S411867. eCollection 2023.

Affiliations

¹ Department of ENT, Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt.
² Department of Tropical Medicine and Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt.
³ Department of Clinical and Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt.
⁴ Audiovestibular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Minia, Egypt.
⁵ Tropical Medicine and Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt.
⁶ King Salman International University, Faculty of Medicine, El Tor, Egypt.
⁷ Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt.
⁸ Department of ENT, Faculty of Medicine, Aswan University, Aswan, Egypt.
⁹ Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt.
¹⁰ Department of ENT, Faculty of Medicine, Luxor University, Luxor, Egypt.
¹¹ Department of Tropical Medicine and Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.
¹² Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, 83523, Egypt.

Abstract

Background: Helicobacter pylori is assumed to cause many gastric and extragastric diseases. We aimed to assess the possible association role of H. pylori in Otitis media with effusion (OME), nasal polyps and adenotonsillitis.

Patients and methods: A total of 186 patients with various ear, nose and throat diseases were included. The study comprised 78 children with chronic adenotonsillitis, 43 children with nasal polyps and 65 children with OME. OME patients were assigned to two subgroups: those who have and those who did not have adenoid hyperplasia. Among the patients with bilateral nasal polyps, 20 individuals had recurrent nasal polyps and 23 had de novo nasal polyps. Patients who have chronic adenotonsillitis were divided into three groups: those with chronic tonsillitis and those who underwent tonsillitis, those with chronic adenoiditis and adenoidectomy was performed, and those with chronic adenotonsillitis and underwent adenotonsillectomy. In addition to examination of H. pylori antigen in stool samples of all included patients, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for detection of H. pylori in the effusion fluid was performed, additionally, Giemsa stain was used for detection of H. pylori organism within the tissue samples when available.

Results: Frequency of H. pylori in effusion fluid was 28.6% in patients with OME and adenoid hyperplasia, while in those with OME it was only 17.4% with a p value of 0.2. Nasal polyp biopsies were positive in 13% patients of denovo, and 30% patients with recurrent nasal polyps, p=0.2. De novo nasal polyps were more prevalent in the positive stools than recurrent ones, p=0.7. All adenoid samples were negative for H. pylori, only two samples of tonsillar tissue (8.3%) were positive for H. pylori, and stool analysis was positive in 23 patients with chronic adenotonsillitis.

Conclusion: Lack of association between Helicobacter pylori and occurrence of OME, nasal polyposis or recurrent adenotonsillitis.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori; adenotonsillitis; nasal polyps; otitis media with effusion.