16S of sinonasal microbiome from endoscopic surgery

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a chronic inflammatory condition of the nose and paranasal sinuses, whose etiology is not well understood. Despite historical evidence of sinonasal bacteria in CRS patients, the role of the bacterial community in the disease remains largely undefined. Understanding CRS requires that these local microbiomes are characterized. The objective of this case-control study was to determine the impact of CRS endotype, endoscopic surgical history, and sinonasal niche on the bacterial distribution of CRS compared to healthy controls. In this single-center study, patients were enrolled from an Otolaryngology clinic and underwent surgery at an associated public hospital. Samples were collected and next generation sequencing was utilized to characterize the bacterial microbiome. We hypothesized that specific taxa would associate with sample types, such as tissue or fluid-associated samples, and that both CRS endotype and surgical history would impact the sinonasal bacterial community.