Radioisotopic method for nasal mucociliary function evaluation

In 13 healthy young adults, nasal mucociliary transport velocity was measured by means of albumine microsphere labeled with Tc99m as a tracer. M + ISD of clearance velocity values and of the half time radioactivity (T1/2) resulted to be respectively 1.02 + 0.22 cm/min and 1.07 + 0.24 min. A significant correlation (P less than 0.05) between half time clearance (T1/2) values of the radioactive particles and the mucociliary velocity ones could be detected, making T1/2 a reliable and rapidly obtainable parameter for determining nasal mucociliary function. Advantages and disadvantages of the different techniques are discussed.