SMOKING AS A PREDICTOR OF CHANGES IN THE MICROBIOTA OF THE PALATINE TONSILS IN ACUTE TONSILLITIS

Abstract

Introduction. Acute tonsillitis remains one of the most common pathologies of the respiratory system, and smoking is an important risk factor for its development and chronicity. It not only suppresses local immunity, but also creates conditions for the disruption of the colonisation resistance of the mucous membrane. The aim of the study was to conduct a comparative analysis of the microbiome of the tonsils in patients with acute tonsillitis depending on their smoking status. Research Methods. A total of 54 individuals (mean aged 25.97 ± 7.71 years) with symptoms of acute tonsillitis were examined. Based on the results of the questionnaire, patients were divided into two groups: Group 1 – 26 smokers, Group 2 – 28 non-smokers. Bacteriological examination was used to determine the aetiology. Mann- Whitney U test (for quantitative data) and Fisher’s exact test (for categorical variables) were used to compare the groups. Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to assess the similarity of individual microbial profiles. Results and Discussion. According to the study results, β-haemolytic streptococci were detected in four patients (15.4 %) in Group 1 (smokers) and six patients (21.4 %) in Group 2 (non-smokers). The proportion of α-haemolytic streptococci was 31.6 % of all strains isolated in Group 1 and 29.3 % in Group 2. Other representatives of the microbiota present in both groups included Neisseria spp. (19.7 % and 14.6 %, respectively) and Corynebacterium spp. (9.2 % and 20.0 %, respectively). No statistically significant differences between groups were found for most microorganisms (p > 0.05), except for Corynebacterium spp., where significant differences were observed in both the constancy index and level of colonisation (p < 0.05). High values of coenetic correlation for both groups (Group 1 = 0.87; Group 2 = 0.83) indicate a good correspondence between the dendrograms and the actual data structure. Conclusions. The results obtained demonstrate that the tonsillar microbiota in patients with acute tonsillitis is characterised by species diversity in both study groups. It has been established that smoking status does not lead to radical changes in species composition, but is associated with specific structural shifts which require further research.