Nasal pepsin A: Biomarker of laryngopharyngeal reflux in chronic rhinosinusitis

Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) can contribute to chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Pepsin is believed to be one of the causes of CRS. Pepsin can be a promising biomarker because it is only produced by gastric parietal cells, so it can explain the correlation of CRS with LPR. This study aims to determine the relationship between CRS and LPR based on nasal pepsin examination. The design in this study is a cross-sectional prospective with statistical analysis using the Chi-square method. The research sample were patients with complaints of runny nose and nasal congestion within 12 weeks and met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. All samples were subjected to nasal endoscopy and fiber optic laryngoscope and have Reflux Symptoms Index (RSI) > 13. Specimens from the samples were obtained through the nasal washing method, and pepsin was evaluated using the PepTest lateral flow device. A total of 35 samples in this study consisted of 13 men (37.14%) and 22 women (62.85%). The highest age in the CRS group was the 18-40-year-old group with 16 (64%). A total of 20 (83.3%) CRS patients were positive for pepsin p=0.04 (p<0.05).&nbsp