Nasal mucociliary clearance in patients with diabetes mellitus.

Fifty insulin-dependent diabetics and 50 non-diabetics without a history of nasal disease have been studied for nasal problems including mucociliary function complicated by diabetes mellitus. For the diabetics, the mean value of nasal mucociliary clearance was considerably decreased and this was more often associated with dry noses but increased pH-values, both of which were higher than those for non-diabetics (p less than 0.05). As suggested in earlier literature, more aggressive nasal moistening therapy must be recommended for those patients presenting with these conditions in the light of systemic diabetic abnormalities.