[A clinical method of testing the humidifying capicity of the human nose (author's transl)]

At the beginning attention is drawn to the fact that there is a lack of suitable clinical tests for the measurement of the humidifying and warming capacity of the nose. The great number of testing methods which have been published so far, have been either too complicated to be applied in routine checks or they were too physically strenous, so that this could not be reasonably demanded of the patients. With the help of the clinical method of testing introduced by us one can find out about norm data for the quantitiy of water needed for humidifying the inspired air in healthy persons, as well as examine the influence of pharmacons on the secretion capacity of the nose. In addition to this, pathological states such as atrophic rhinitis, vasomotoric and allergic rhinitis, patients operated with a partial maxillectomy or with total laryngectomy can also be tested as far as the humidifying and warming capacity of the nose ist concerned. In our testing method extremely dry air streams out of a compressed air cylinder with a flow of 8 1/min through a small silicone catheter at the choanal end of one nasal part and is sucked out of the other nostril with a suction flow of 5 1/min, the air passing through a psychrometer modified by us. The excess flow of 3 1/min streams from the naso- into the oropharynx most effectively preventing the air which is to be measured from mixing with the expiratory air saturated with water-vapor. A gas analyzer sensitive to carbon dioxide measures the error possible in this open system which amounts to only one percent of an average mixture with expiratory air. With the help of a psychrometer-normogramme the absolute humidity is determined from the data of the wet and both the dry thermometers. We were testing 22 healthy persons, average age 34, the norm data were established. The result is that for the hole 10 minute measurement period one nasal part needs 1.58 g water for the humidifying of the inspired air. From this it can be calculated that 456 g of water are necessary for humidifying the inspired air through both nasal parts during 24 hours. Compared with other exact methods, which, however, are not suitable for clinical tests (Ingelstedt et al.) our simple and easily workable method correlate very well.