title: Assessment of nasal mucociliary clearance in anesthetists.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess mucociliary clearance in anesthetists who were exposed to waste anesthetic gases occupationally.
  
  
  METHODS
  The first group consisted of 30 anesthetists who had been working at least 2 years. The control group of 30 subjects was selected from hospital staff with no history of occupational exposure to waste anesthetic gases. Mucociliary clearance time was assessed by measuring the saccharine nasal transit time (SNTT).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-six women and 24 men aged between 25 and 60 years were enrolled in the study. There were no differences between the anesthetist and control groups in terms of age, sex, height, or weight. The median SNTT for the anesthetists (10 min) was longer than that for the control group (8.3 min). The difference was significant (P = 0.025). In addition, there was a significant correlation between the SNTT and the working time (P = 0.02). Furthermore, anesthetists who had worked for 4 years or more had prolonged SNTT compared to those who had worked less than 4 years (P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study demonstrated the impairment of mucociliary clearance in anesthetists. Increasing impairment with increasing working time was also detected.
authors: Eyüp
authors: E
authors: Horasanli
authors: Aydın
authors: A
authors: Acar
authors: Bünyamin
authors: B
authors: Muslu
authors: Melih
authors: M
authors: Çayönü
authors: Murat
authors: M
authors: Çimencan
authors: Serkan
authors: S
authors: Kayabaşi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000776:Anesthesiology; D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009079:Mucociliary Clearance / Q000502:physiology*; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000502:physiology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010820:Physicians / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation