Subglottis microbiome Metagenome

Idiopathic subglottic stenosis (iSGS) is a rare fibrotic disease of the proximal airway affecting adult Caucasian women nearly exclusively. Life-threatening ventilatory obstruction occurs secondary to pernicious subglottic mucosal scar. Diverse diseases in divergent organ systems are associated with fibrosis, suggesting common pathogenic mechanisms. One well characterized pathway is chronic inflammation secondary to pathogen. In the present study, we explored the role of the proximal airway microbiome in iSGS pathogenesis.