Diagnostic Value of Eosinophil Cationic Protein (ECP) in Nasal Secretion of Allergic Rhinitis

Yoon, Kun Sik; Kim, Young Min; Jang, Hyuk Ki; Kim, Young Ki

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The eosinophil plays an important role in allergic inflammation and the eosinophil cationic proteins (ECP) is one of the major granular proteins during its activation. ECP is proved to have an eosinophil specificity and reflects the activity of the eosinophil in the target site. We tried to identify the difference in the ECP levels between the nasal secretion of allergic and nonallergic rhinitis.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
In order to draw a correlation between the ECP level and other diagnostic methods of allergy, we examined ECP in serum and nasal secretion of 20 patients with mite allergy and 20 non-allergic rhinitis patients. We also performed symptom questionnaires, acoustic rhinometry, the Wright-Giemsa staining of nasal brushings, and total amount of IgE in nasal secretion.
RESULTS
ECP level in the nasal secretion of allergic patients after allergen challenge was higher than that of non-allergic rhinitis patients (p=0.026). We also found that the ECP level of allergic patients was higher after allergen provocation than before (p=0.005). Additionally, there was a negative correlation between the minimal cross-sectional area in acoustic rhinometry and the ECP level in the nasal secretion before the challenge (r=- 0.54, p=0.01).
CONCLUSION
We concluded that ECP is the soluble marker which reflects the severity of allergic inflammation in the nose and is useful for diagnosis as well as in the follow-up care of nasal allergic inflammation.