Determination of nasal mucociliary clearance time and nasal symptom in patients with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is an important health problem in Turkey. Number of studies on symptoms of ear nose throat system and indicating whether or not the organs are affected in patients with CCHF is limited. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether CCHF infections caused any change in nasal physiology in adult patients or not by using saccharin transit time (STT) and nasal symptom scoring. Twenty subjects with laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of CCHF and 28 healthy control subjects were included in the present study. A saccharin test was used to evaluate nasal mucociliary clearance time (NMCT) and the nasal symptom scoring used in allergic rhinitis was modified and used to examine the symptoms of the patients. The average STT of CCHF and control groups were 472.70 +/- 151.58 and 276.07 +/- 89.65sec, respectively. The difference between them was statistically significant (P=0.00, P<0.05). When those in CCHF group were classified according to timing of the test, STT average of those undergoing the test on the 1st-3rd days (n=10) and 4th-6th (n=10) days was 547.00 +/- 154.37 and 398.40 +/- 111.39sec, respectively. The difference between them was statistically significant (P=0.024; P<0.05). The results of the present study showed that NMCT prolonged in adult patients with CCHF compared to those in the control group despite the fact that it was within normal limits. For these reasons, clinicians should follow-up CCHF patients more closely for respiratory tract diseases and sinonasal and middle ear infections. J. Med. Virol. 89:960-965, 2017. (c) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.