please see here for details
A large international study is underway in the UK (Management of Adult Chronic Rhinosinusitis: MACRO programme) that is addressing several of the major deficiencies in the management of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and should help with the development of an evidenced based management plan for CRS patients across primary and secondary care. Our proposed study presents an excellent opportunity to contribute to the larger MACRO programme, by defining the bacterial and fungal profiles of CRS patients from the MACRO study, and investigating the microbial community stability after a surgical or medical intervention. Endoscopically guided sinus swabs collected from participating CRS patients in the MACRO trial, will be processed in the laboratories of the University of Auckland using established molecular microbiology protocols with next-generation technologies.
This comprehensive study of the microbial communities will be the largest cohort of CRS patients to date and will help define targets for more effective treatment strategies. In addition, the impact of medical or surgical treatment on the inherent sinonasal microbial communities will help inform the decision making for the best management of CRS. This project aims to address the pressing need to bridge the gap between molecular techniques in the research and clinical outcomes.