Topical Probiotic Sinus Irrigations for Treating Chronic Sinusitis

Exclusion criteria

• . Patients who are taking topical antibiotic irrigations and are unwilling to stop them.
• . Patients who are unable to complete self-administered questionnaires because of cognitive impairment, language barrier, or severe medical conditions.
• . Patients who have a terminal illness (malignancy), immunocompromised (medication-related immunosuppression, immunodeficiency disorder) or systemic disease (granulomatosis polyangiitis or other autoimmune disease with sinonasal manifestations, cystic fibrosis), or recent head/sinonasal trauma that may predispose to infectious complications.
• . Patients who have severe or emergent complications from CRS or presence of a sinus tumor.
• . Female patients who are pregnant or breastfeeding. The patient will be asked if she is pregnant or has any chance of being pregnant. In either case, the patient will be excluded. Note in our consent form this is also addressed (excerpt below).
• . Patients who are taking oral corticosteroids or who have taken oral antibiotics in the previous 2 weeks or on oral corticosteroids.
• . Patients who have upper respiratory infection-type symptoms at time of enrollment, e.g., fevers/chills, sneezing, runny nose, sore throat, coughing. Patients can be eligible for enrollment once symptoms have fully resolved if all other inclusion/exclusion criteria are met.