Association between Infection and Nasal Polyps: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: () has definite or possible associations with multiple local and distant manifestations. has been isolated from multiple sites throughout the body, including the nose. Clinical non-randomized studies with report discrepant data regarding the association between infection and nasal polyps. The aim of this first systematic review and meta-analysis was the assessment of the strength of the association between infection and incidence of nasal polyps.

Methods: We performed an electronic search in the three major medical databases, namely PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane, to extract and analyze data as per PRISMA guidelines.

Results: Out of 57 articles, 12 studies were graded as good quality for analysis. Male-to-female ratio was 2:1, and age ranged between 17-78 years. The cumulative pooled rate of infection in the nasal polyp group was 32.3% (controls 17.8%). The comparison between the two groups revealed a more significant incidence of infection among the nasal polyp group (OR 4.12), though with high heterogeneity I = 66%. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that in European studies, the prevalence of infection among the nasal polyp group was significantly higher than in controls, yielding null heterogeneity. Subgroup analysis based on immunohistochemistry resulted in null heterogeneity with preserving a statistically significant difference in infection prevalence between the groups.

Conclusion: The present study revealed a positive association between infection and nasal polyps.