ENHANCED CLEARANCE OF SECRETIONS FROM HUMAN LUNG AFTER ADMINISTRATION OF HYPERTONIC SALINE AEROSOL

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Abstract
The radioaerosol method was used to measure the effect of saline aerosol on the rate of clearance of secretions from the lung. Two trial runs were done on 7 patients with chronic obstructive lung disease (mean .+-. SD ratio of 1 s forced expiratory volume to forced vital capacity, 50 .+-. 15%), a control run and a saline run. In both runs, 5.0 .+-. 0.7-.mu.m polystyrene particles tagged with 99mTC were inhaled under controlled conditions by the patients, and their subsequent clearance was monitored for 6 h by whole lung counters. Scanning was also done with a gamma rectilinear scanner. The saline run was identical to the control run, except that 30 min after inhaling the radioaerosol, the patients inhaled an aerosol of hypertonic (1.21 M) saline for 11 min from an ultrasonic nebulizer. Although the initial distribution of the radioaerosol along the airways was the same in both runs, whole lung clearance during the first 50 min was twice as fast after the inhalation of the hypertonic saline aerosol as in the control (P < 0.01). The mean weight of sputum produced was higher (P < 0.05) in the saline run. The number of coughs in the 2 runs was the same.

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