Effects of allergic inflammation of the nasal mucosa on the severity of rhinovirus 16 cold

Background: Despite the strong association of asthma exacerbations with rhi novirus (RV) infection, inoculation of asthmatic subjects with RV only caus es small changes in loner airway function, suggesting that RV infection is not itself sufficient to provoke asthma exacerbations. Objective: Our purpose was to test whether allergic inflammation increases the airway response to RV infection. Methods: We compared the severity of RV type 16-induced colds in 2 groups o f 10 subjects with allergic rhinitis. One group received 3 nasal challenges with allergen and the other received challenges with placebo over the week before nasal inoculation with RV type 16 (4000 tissue culture infective do se 50% per subject). Subjects kept symptom diaries and were assessed with s pirometry, methacholine challenge, nasal lavage, and sputum induction on da ys 2, 4, 7, 10, 15, and 30 after inoculation. Results: The 2 groups developed equal rates of infection (90%), similar col d symptoms (Jackson score median [interquartile range], 11 [6-33] vs 20.5 [ 6-42] for allergen and placebo groups respectively, P = .54), and similar c hanges in cellular profile and in IL-6 and IL-8 concentrations in nasal lav age fluid and induced sputum after RV inoculation. The incubation period wa s significantly longer in the allergen group (2.5 [1-5.5] vs 1 [1-1] day, P = .03) and the duration of cold symptoms was shorter (5 [4.7] vs 8.5 [6-10 ] days, P = .008). We also found an inverse correlation between the percent of eosinophils in nasal lavage fluid before inoculation and the severity o f cold symptoms (r = -0.58, P = .008). Conclusion: In subjects with allergic rhinitis, augmented nasal allergic in flammation before inoculation with RV type 16 does not worsen the severity of cold symptoms but delays their onset and shortens their duration.