Efficacy of Nasal Smear Eosinophil Count in Detecting Allergic Rhinitis in Children

Introduction: Nasal smear eosinophil count is a simple test as well as noninvasive, can be repeated and inexpensive method for diagnosis of allergic rhinitis. Objective: To assess the eosinophil count in nasal smear as a diagnostic test for children with allergic rhinitis. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Laboratory medicine and Paediatrics, BSMMU, Dhaka from September 2019 to August 2020 in 120 children (Age up to 18 years both sex). Diagnosed patients of allergic rhinitis according to ARIA-WHO guideline with history and clinical feature who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected as study population. Nasal smears for eosinophil were stained using Giemsa stain and observed eosinophil under light microscope. Peripheral blood eosinophil count was estimated by hematology auto-analyzer (SYSMEX-XN 2000) and rechecked manually. The serum total IgE level was performed based on sandwich principle of ELISA. Results: Pearson's correlation coefficient test revealed significant positive correlation between nasal smear eosinophil count with serum IgE and blood absolute eosinophil count. Conclusion: Nasal smear eosinophil count was significantly raised alone with absolute eosinophil count and serum IgE level with the severity of allergic rhinitis in children.