Nasal mucociliary clearance in adenotonsillar hypertrophy

The nasal mucociliary clearance time was studied using Andersen saccharin method in 50 normal children and 50 age and sex matched patients of adenotonsillar hypertrophy, which was repeated one month after adenotonsillectomy. The normal mucociliary clearance time in healthy children was found to be 8.55 +/- 2.11 minutes. A significant impairment in nasal mucociliary clearance time was noted in children suffering with adenotonsillar hypertrophy which was 16.97 +/- 3.1 minutes, and early adenotonsillectomy restored the mucociliary clearance to a normal 8.7 +/- 2.14 minutes.