Evaluation of Nasal Mucociliary Clearance Time in COVID-19 Patients

Background: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral pandemic emerging in East Asia and spreading rapidly to the rest of the world and continuing in our country. The number of studies examining the symptoms of the otolaryngology system and organs in COVID-19 patients is limited. The purpose of this study is to show whether COVID-19 infections cause any changes in nasal physiology in adult patients by measuring the mucociliary clearance (MCC) time with the saccharin test. Methods: One hundred one patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection (group 1, n = 42 smokers and group 2, n = 59 nonsmokers) and 87 individuals without COVID-19 infection as the control group (group 3, n = 33 smokers and group 4, n = 54 nonsmokers) were included in the study. A saccharin test was used to evaluate the nasal MCC time. Results: Mucociliary clearance test averages of the groups were determined as 473.571 +/- 263.684, 442.966 +/- 228.463, 468.333 +/- 267.367, 412.629 +/- 192.179 seconds, respectively. When the test durations were examined, the group with the most prolonged MCC duration was determined as the smoking COVID (+) patient group (473.571 +/- 263.684 seconds). The second group, with the most prolonged MCC duration, was determined as the smoking control group (468.333 +/- 267.367 seconds). No statistically significant difference was found in intergroup mucociliary clearance time (P = 0.760). Conclusion: Although the authors found that smoking and viral infections prolong the MCC duration in our study, they did not find a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of MCC duration.