Is Ozone (O3) Treatment Effective in Atrophic Rhinitis? Experimental Animal Study

Atrophic rhinitis (AR) is a disease characterized by atrophy of the mucosa, submucosa, bone tissue due to an unknown cause and excessive nasal cavity enlargement. The disease still has no complete treatment, and the treatment of the functional loss of atrophic cells in AR is still a matter to be investigated. Ozone (O3) therapy has been shown to enhance cell metabolism, angiogenesis, fibroblast activity, and collagen synthesis.

To determine whether ozone treatment affects the disease histopathologically, in experimentally created AR. Material - Method: Twelve Wistar Hanover strain albino male rats were included in the study. Atrophic rhinitis was induced in animals by administering Pasteurella multocida toxin diluted with saline for 21 days to both nasal cavities. A total of 12 animals included in the study were divided into 2 groups as control and study. Ozone gas (60 μg/mL) was administered rectally to the study group for 21 days. After 2 weeks, the rats were decapitated, the nasal cavities were removed as a block, and atrophic rhinitis parameters (epithelial hyperplasia, goblet cell loss, cilia loss, inflammatory infiltration, and vascular ectasia) were evaluated under light microscopy by histopathological examination and statistically interpreted.

The incidence of vascular ectasia was significantly lower in the ozone group compared to the control group (p<0.05). There was no significant difference between the groups regarding other histopathologic findings.

Ozone treatment was moderate at the histopathological level. We concluded that ozone therapy has no or very limited effect on atrophic rhinitis.