The correlation of mucociliary transport and scanning electron microscopy of nasal mucosa.

The ciliary ultrastructure studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), nasal mucociliary transport rate (MTR) measured by a radioisotopic method and their correlation with each other were studied in 56 patients with recurrent or chronic respiratory infections. Patients were divided into three groups according to MTR. The number of pathological SEM findings increased remarkably in groups with moderate or poor MTR. Loss of ciliated cells and microvilli were seen in 86% of specimens with poor MTR, in 71% with moderate MTR, and in 50% with good MTR. There was ciliary disorientation in 45% of cases with poor MTR compared with 25% in cases with good MTR. Epithelial metaplasia and the number of short cilia increased in groups with poor or moderate MTR.