Relationship between rhinosinusitis symptoms and mucociliary clearance time

OBJECTIVE: To determine the correlation between rhinosinusitis symptoms as assessed by the Sino-Nasal Outcomes Test-20 (SNOT-20) and mucociliary clearance as assessed by the saccharin method. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: This was a cross-sectional study of 50 adult volunteers. Subjects completed the SNOT-20, and mucociliary clearance was determined with the saccharine method. Correlation coefficients (Spearman's Rho) were calculated for the global SNOT-20 score. RESULTS: The SNOT-20 scores varied from 20 to 54 (mean 30.28) with a possible range of 20 to 100. Clearance times varied from 418 to 2865 seconds (mean 999). There was no significant correlation between global SNOT-20 score and clearance time (r = 0.196). CONCLUSIONS: There is no significant correlation between rhinosinusitis symptoms as assessed by SNOT-20 scores and mucociliary clearance. SIGNIFICANCE: Mucociliary clearance is important for the health of the sinonasal cavities, but clearance time does not appear to be associated with symptom severity in the population studied. EBM rating: A-1b