[Comparison of nasal mucociliary clearance before and after operation in chronic sinusitis]

Nasal mucociliary clearance is a first line of defence mechanism of the respiratory system against inhaled particles. It transports particles depositing into the nasal passages to the pharynx to be swallowed or expectorated, thus protecting the respiratory system from injury. Clearance function is affected by many factors such as the chronic inflammation of the paranasal sinuses. A group of 13 healthy volunteers (controls) and a group of 17 patients suffering from chronic sinusitis was investigated in the Department of Otolaryngology of Taichung Veterans General Hospital between June and October of 1990. A radioisotope method was used to measure the velocity of nasal mucociliary transport in the participants. This involved the use of radioisotope Tc99m combined with albumin particles and measurements were made in one nasal chamber at a time. The sinusitis patients were then surgically treated and they all improved. In all 25 tests were made in the control group and the mean velocity of their mucociliary transport was found to be 4.56mm/min. In the patients 28 measurements were made and their mean velocity was found to be 2. 67mm/min before the operation and 4.03mm/min after the operation. The difference between pre- and post-operative velocities was statistically significant as was the difference between the pre-operative velocities of the patients and those of the controls. The difference between controls and patients after the operation was not significant.