Antibacterial effect of electrolysed acid water on the nasal discharge from patients with chronic rhinosinusitis.

This study was conducted to determine whether electrolysed acid water (EAW) increased the antibacterial effect of irrigating solution used in the management of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). One hundred CRS patients were recruited from April 2008 to February 2009. Four swab specimens were taken from the ipsilateral middle meatus of each patient and one was placed in a Thanswab tube, while the other three were each placed randomly in one of three glass tubes containing either 5 ml of EAW, distilled water or 70% alcohol. They were immediately sent to the laboratory for aerobic and anaerobic cultures. Bacteria grew from 36 specimens when they were placed in a Thanswab tube, from four when placed in a tube with EAW, 30 when placed in distilled water and two when placed in alcohol. The culture rate was significantly lower when the specimens were placed in a tube with EAW as compared with distilled water or in a Thanswab tube, but was not different compared with alcohol. The bacteria that grew from four specimens after first being processed by EAW were all anaerobes. This study showed that EAW exhibited an increased antibacterial effect on bacteria grown from the nasal discharge of CRS patients.