Tracheobronchial Clearance in Smoking-Discordant Twins

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Abstract
Tracheobronchial clearance has been studied with a test aerosol of approximately 6µ particles of fluorinated ethylene propylene tagged with technetium 99m and external measurement of radioactivity in the lungs. Ten monozygotic pairs of twins, discordant with regard to cigarette smoking, were studied. In five of the pairs, the smoker had a markedly slower clearance than the nonsmoker, whereas in the other five pairs the smoker had a clearance similar to that of the nonsmoker. Clearance was on the average significantly slower in the smokers than in the non-smokers; and the slower clearance in the smokers was considered to be due to reduced mucociliary transport.