Comparison of three methods for measuring nasal mucociliary clearance in man

Three techniques for studying nasal mucociliary clearance have been compared in 20 normal subjects, aged 19 to 26. Three different tracers used were deposited on the septum or the nasal floor. The transport rate of a 250 micron anion resin particle tagged with 99mTc was measured over a distance of 3.5 cm. This method was used as reference. The transport time of saccharin was measured when the subjects tasted its sweetness on swallowing. The transport time of 600 micron aluminium discs was measured by observing their arrival at the pharynx. For each method, duplicate measurements were carried out over a 24 hour period. Despite the large variations in the results from one day to the next, a significant negative correlation (r = -0.59, p less than 0.001) was observed between the transport rate of the radioactive particles and the transport time of the saccharin. The daily variations in nasal clearance for these two methods were also significantly correlated (r = -0.53, p less than 0.02). These results validate the suitability of the saccharin method as a simple screening test for detecting abnormally low values of nasal mucociliary clearance. In our group of 20 subjects, 5 were characterized by a low nasal mucociliary clearance, whichever method was used.