Abnormal mucociliary action in asthma and bronchiectasis.

Nasal mucociliary clearance (NMCC) time was measured in four groups of patients: asthmatics with allergic rhinitis, asthmatics without rhinitis, bronchiectasis and normal subjects. The saccharin method was used for the study. The NMCC time was prolonged significantly in the asthmatic groups and group with bronchiectasis when compared with control subjects (P less than 0.001). It is likely that the impaired mucociliary clearance is due to a combination of mucus abnormality and ciliary malfunction.