Correlation between nasal ciliary beat frequency and mucus transport rate in volunteers

The correlation between mucus transport time (MTT) and nasal ciliary beat frequency (CBF) in human volunteers was investigated. Mucus transport was measured with the indigo carmine/saccharin sodium test. The test can be performed easily, with no need for sophisticated equipment. CBF was measured photometrically in biopsies from the ciliated epithelium of the nose. After statistical analysis with the Shapiro-Wilk test, it appeared that the logarithms of the MTTs were distributed normally. The correlation between the CBF and the log-MTT was tested with the least-square method. Correlation coefficients are r = -0.55 and r = -0.51 (n = 31) for the log-MTTs as measured with saccharin sodium and indigo carmine respectively. The results are significant at a level alpha = 0.005. The highly significant correlation between CBF and log-MTT suggests that CBF is the main factor in the nasal mucociliary clearance in healthy volunteers. The indigo carmine/saccharin sodium test appears to be useful in testing the in vivo effects of nasal drugs on mucociliary clearance.