Abstract
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to identify the role of major respiratory viruses in the aetiology of human nasal polyps using polymerase chain reaction technique. METHODS: Thirty patients with nasal polyps and a group of 20 healthy patients (control group) were included in this study. Mucosa was obtained from the polyps of patients with nasal polyposis and from the middle turbinate of the control group patients by means of biopsy. The samples were stored at -80 °C until molecular analysis by polymerase chain reaction was carried out. RESULTS: In the control group, the human coronavirus and human rhinovirus were diagnosed in one of the patients and the human respiratory syncytial virus in another. In the group with nasal polyposis, the influenza B virus was identified in one of the patients and the human coronavirus in another. CONCLUSION: The results did not demonstrate a statistically significant relationship between nasal polyposis and respiratory viruses.