Nasal biopsy is superior to nasal smear for finding eosinophils in nonallergic rhinitis.

The presence of eosinophils was compared in nasal biopsy and smear. Thirty-two nonallergic rhinitis patients, of whom six had nasal polyps, were included in the study. The specimens were studied light-microscopically after staining with hematoxylin-eosin. The association between the presence of polyps and the finding of eosinophils in the biopsy specimens proved to be significant. Ten normal subjects served as controls. It was far more simple to detect eosinophils in the biopsy samples than in the nasal smears. When we considered biopsies with at least four eosinophils in four fields as hypereosinophilic, our group of patients contained 25% nonallergic rhinitis with eosinophilia syndrome (NARES) patients.