Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 31, 2026

Deferred Growth Inhibition Assay to Quantify the Effect of Bacteria-derived Antimicrobials on Competition
Published on: September 3, 2016
Effects of azelastine nasal spray on nasal and nasopharyngeal microflora
F Aksoy1, E Senturk1, R Doğan1
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology,Bezmialem Vakif University,Fatih,Istanbul,Turkey.
Objective:
Azelastine nasal spray is a topical antihistaminic drug for the symptomatic treatment of allergic rhinitis. This study aimed to investigate the effects of azelastine on nasal and nasopharyngeal microflora.
Methods:
Swab samples from 25 patients prescribed azelastine nasal spray monotherapy were collected just before treatment and after 1 month of treatment. After incubation of inoculates, the number of bacteria present in cultures was measured (in colony-forming units per millilitre).
Results:
Evaluation of the number of microflora revealed increased bacterial reproduction after treatment, but this difference was not statistically significant. The use of azelastine nasal spray decreased the reproduction of three potentially pathogenic bacteria; however, it did not affect the reproduction of other potentially pathogenic bacteria.
Conclusion:
The use of azelastine nasal spray for one month did not have a statistically significant effect on the numbers of nasal and nasopharyngeal microflora; it is therefore safe from a microbiological viewpoint.
Related Concept Videos
Microbiota of the Respiratory Tract
Microbiome of the Eye
The Oral Microbiota
Development of the Oral Microbiota
The Skin Microbiota
Microbiota of the Urogenital Tract

