Poster Presentation Australian Society for Microbiology Annual Scientific Meeting 2016

Diverse bacterial species in the microbiome of upper respiratory tract of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis and healthy participants (#359)

Hanna E. Sidjabat 1 , Kyra Cottrell 2 , Greg Flohr 3 , Leon Kitipornchai 4 , Bryan Hawarden 4 , Anders Cervin 1 4 5
  1. University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  2. The University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  3. Pathology Queensland, Queensland Health, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  4. Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  5. School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Background: Microbiome of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) has been described through microbial diversity profiling. Rapid bacterial identification using MALDI-TOF has made comprehensive understanding of upper respiratory tract (URT) microbiome of CRS patients and healthy participants (HP) possible through conventional microbiology.

Materials and methods: A total of 78 participants (35 CRS and 43 HP) were recruited. CRS patients were 22 males and 13 females; HPs were 24 males and 19 females. Swabs collected from anterior nose (AN), middle meatus (MM), nasopharynx (NP) and oropharynx (OP) were cultured. Bacterial identification was performed using MALDI-TOF and analysed for bacterial diversity.

Results and discussion: A total of 111 different bacterial species were identified from these swab specimens. Corynebacterium spp. and S. epidermidis were abundant in the AN of mostly in HP. Streptococcus spp. in the OP were the most common genera isolated in both CRS patient and HP groups. Six different species of Corynebacterium spp., were isolated from AN, MM and NP. Acinetobacter spp., E. faecalis, Enterobacter spp., Klebsiella spp. and P. aeruginosa were isolated mostly from MM, NP and OP. Nine Staphylococcus sp. other than S. aureus and S. epidermidis have been isolated from MM, NP and OP. S. aureus were more common in the NP of CRS patients and relatively common in the MM of HP. H. parainfluenzae, A. odontolyticus, N. subflava and V. parvula had been frequently encountered. Amongst 13 Streptococcus spp., S. salivarius and S. mitis/oralis were the most common in OP. Rarely, Streptococcus sp. and V. parvula were isolated in the NP of CRS of five patients.

Conclusions: The microbiota of the AN, MM and NP of CRS patients and HP were diverse and distinct from OP microbiota. Healthy URT microbiota was indicated by the abundance of Corynebacterium sp. and S. epidermidis in AN. Heavy colonisation of S. aureus and presence of oral commensals in the NP was the potential indication of CRS. Oral cavity can be the reservoir of various pathogens.

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