Nasal mucociliary clearance of chronic sinusitis in relation to rheological properties of nasal mucus.

The role of the viscosity (eta') and elasticity (G') of nasal mucus in nasal mucociliary clearance (MCC) in chronic sinusitis (CS) was studied. The nasal mucus was collected from 17 patients with CS, and both eta' and G' were determined by an oscillating sphere magnetic rheometer. Following the nasal mucus collection, nasal MCC was measured by a radioisotope method in the patients and 22 normal subjects. Nasal MCC in the patients was significantly reduced compared with that in the normal subjects (p < .05). No significant correlation was noted between nasal MCC and eta', or between nasal MCC and G'. The results suggest that factors other than eta' and G' of nasal mucus may control nasal MCC in CS.