A modified technetium-99m isotope test to measure nasal mucociliary transport: comparison with the saccharine-dye test.

In this study two indirect mucociliary transport tests were compared. Nine subjects underwent duplicate saccharine-dye tests and duplicate modified technetium-99m (99mTc) tests, in which the radioactive 99mTc was nebulized in the nostril by means of a pump spray. The efficacy of mucociliary transport was deduced from the transport time of saccharine, dye and 99mTc. Transport rate also provided additional information in the 99mTc test. Transport rate correlated best in the repeated tests (r = 0.46), but was not significant (P = 0.21). Use of a pump spray for the 99mTc test instead of placement of a single droplet on the nasal mucosa makes the test easier to perform.