Cold vs. Allergy: The Use of Nasal Cytology to Determine if High School Students Can Predict Their Own Diagnosis

Overview

Objectives/Goals To determine if high school students can predict if their nasal symptoms represent a cold or nasal allergies, by using nasal cytology to confirm their diagnosis. Methods/Materials High school student volunteers were recruited with active nasal symptoms (nasal mucus production). Informed consent was obtained from subject or subject's parent (if under 18). Participants were assigned through alphanumeric code. Subjects were asked to blow their nose into a tissue-sized piece of plastic wrap. All subjects filled out a questionnaire based on their symptoms, which included nasal and non-nasal symptoms, were asked qualifying and disqualifying questions, and asked if they thought they had a cold or allergy. Nasal mucus samples obtained from subjects were smeared onto a glass microscope slide using a cotton swab and allowed to air dry. The slide was stained with Hansel stain and rinsed with distilled water. Excess stain was removed with 75% ethyl alcohol. The slide was then read to determine most predominant cell type. A predominance of eosinophils suggests a diagnosis of allergy, while a predominance of neutrophils suggests a cold/infection. The prevalence of allergies were calculated by dividing the number of people who have predominant amount of eosinophils by the total amount of subjects tested (times 100). This same prevalence calculation also done for colds with a neutrophil predominance. People who predicted correctly that they had a cold or allergy divided by the total number of subjects gave the percentage of correctly predicted. Subjects who predicted incorrectly that they had a cold or allergy divided by the total number of subjects gave the percentage of who predicted incorrectly. Results A total of 74 subjects completed the study. Predominance of eosinophils was found in 50%, 36%, 60% of subjects for fall, winter, spring, respectively (p=NS). Predominance of neutrophils were found in 41%, 55%, 40% of subjects for fall, winter, spring, respectively (p=NS). Fifty-three percent of subjects correctly predicted their diagnosis over all time periods (p=NS). Conclusions/Discussion Eosinophils were the predominant cell type during fall and spring, likely due to mold and tree pollen allergy seasons. Neutrophils were the predominant cell type during winter, corresponding to the peak of cold season. Subjects were unable to accurately predict if they had a cold or allergy.

Competition history

• CSEF 2016 Mammalian Biology · Entry S1206

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