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Tracheobronchial clearance was measured by a radioaerosol technique in 12 patients with bronchiectasis, seven patients with chronic obstructive lung disease expectorating mucoid sputum daily (group X), eight patients with chronic obstructive lung disease but negligible sputum expectoration (group Y), and 10 healthy subjects. The patients with bronchiectasis all expectorated purulent sputum daily (mean wet weight 47 g/day), had reduced forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) (mean 47 5% predicted), and were unable to avoid coughing during the six hour observation period. None of the patients with bronchiectasis or the healthy subjects were current smokers. There were five current smokers in group X and six in group Y. The mean FEV1 in group X was 41% predicted and in group Y 52% predicted, both values similar to that of the patients with bronchiectasis.Tracheobronchial clearance in the first six hours after inhalation of radioaerosol was significantly (p < 0-01) slower in patients with bronchiectasis than in matched healthy subjects despite more proximal deposition of radioaerosol (p = 0 01) and more coughing (p < 001) in the former. Tracheobronchial clearance in patients with bronchiectasis was impaired to a similar degree to that in patients with chronic obstructive lung disease but no bronchiectasis.

(1973). Thorax, 28,[401][402][403][404][405][406][407][408] Mucoid sputum showed a highly significant correlation between pourability grade and viscosity.The mean coefficient of variation for each feature studied was between 13 and 17% for pulmonary function tests and between 25 and 44% for sputum estimations.Significant inverse correlations were found between sputum volume and viscosity, dry weight yield, neuraminic acid (NANA), and fucose, and a positive correlation with FEVI.o/VC %.Linear correlations showed that mucoid sputum dry weight yield correlated with NANA and fucose concentrations, viscosity with NANA, dry weight, and fucose, in ascending order of significance. Mucopurulent sputum viscosity correlated to a much less degree with NANA.Second order partial correlation coefficients showed that for mucoid sputum viscosity was affected equally by dry weight and fucose but not by NANA: for mucopurulent sputum fucose was twice as influential as dry weight while NANA showed an inverse correlation with viscosity (probably because of degradation of NANA).Taking all patients and samples together, a significant inverse correlation was found between sputum viscosity and absolute values of FEVy.0 and FEV,.O/VC % and between FEV,.O/VC% and NANA.