title: A preliminary study of nasal mucociliary clearance in smokers, sinusitis and allergic rhinitis patients.
abstract: Mucocillary clearance of nasal mucosa was evaluated with the saccharin test. A total of 140 subjects was divided into 4 groups: smokers, allergic rhinitis patients, sinusitis patients, and a normal control group. The mean mucociliary transit time for the normal control group (n = 40) was 12 minutes, while allergic rhinitis patients (n = 40) had a mean of 14.6 minutes. The smoker group (n = 40) could be further divided into the following subcategories: (a) those who had been smoking for less than 5 years (n = 10) had a mean of 15.2 minutes, (b) those who had been smoking for more than 5 years at less than one-pack a day (n = 11) had a mean of 14 minutes, and (c) those who had been smoking for more than 5 years at more than one-pack a day (n = 19) had a mean of 16.5 minutes. For the sinusitis patients (n = 20) the mean was 16.6 minutes. The study shows that sinusitis patients, along with those smokers who had been smoking for more than 5 years at more than one-pack a day, had a mucocillary transit time that was considered to be prolonged when compared to the normal control group (p < 0.05).
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Pramongkutklao College of Medicine, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mahakit
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pumhirun
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009079:Mucociliary Clearance; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012220:Rhinitis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012439:Saccharin; D012852:Sinusitis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012907:Smoking / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D012439:Saccharin