Lower airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness in non-asthmatic patients with non-allergic rhinitis

Potential associations between non-allergic rhinitis (NAR) and asthma have been verified epidemiologically, but these associations remain not very clear. It is necessary to further explore the possible implication of lower airway abnormities in NAR patients but without asthma. This study aims to determine lower airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), inflammation and lung function in non-asthmatic patients with NAR.

We recruited 262 non-asthmatic patients with NAR, 377 with AR and 264 healthy subjects. All subjects were non-smokers who underwent meticulous history taking, nasal examination, allergen skin prick test (SPT), blood routine test, measurement of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), methacholine bronchial challenge test and induced sputum eosinophil count, in this order.

Compared with healthy subjects, non-asthmatic patients with NAR yielded markedly lower FEV1/FVC, maximal mid-expiratory flow (MMEF), mid-expiratory flow when 50% of FVC has been expired (MEF50%) and mid-expiratory flow when 75% of FVC has been expired (MEF25%) (P<0.05). Differences in spirometry between group AR and NAR were unremarkable (P>0.05). Patients with NAR yielded higher rate of AHR and higher FeNO levels than healthy subjects but lower than those with AR. The proportion of lower airways disorders (sputum eosinophilia, high FeNO levels or AHR) was highest in group AR (70.8%), followed by NAR (53.4%) and healthy subjects (24.2%) (P<0.01). However, sputum eosinophils in NAR patients were not higher compared with healthy subjects (P>0.05). Sputum eosinophils and FeNO had significant correlation with positive AHR and MMEF in group AR but not in NAR.

Non-asthmatic patients with NAR harbor lower AHR, small airways dysfunction and inflammation, despite being less significant than those with AR. This offers clues to unravel the link between NAR and asthma.