Activation of mucociliary function in chronic rhinitis: a placebo-controlled study.

The effect of HR-6 solutions containing adenosine triphosphate (either 0.5 or 5 mg/ml) and placebo on the symptoms of chronic rhinitis was studied in 11 patients in randomized, crossover study. The nasal mucociliary activity present in these patients was measured by a radioisotopic method and was impaired in all patients, varying from 1.4 to 5.5 mm/min with a mean of 3.2 mm/min. The duration of each treatment was 10 days, with wash-out periods of 4 days. The relief of the nasal symptoms was recorded. The active drugs on average improved nasal mucociliary activity by 1.9-2.1 mm/min against placebo (1.4 mm/min). At the end of the trial six patients preferred the active drugs for relief of nasal symptoms, none placebo and five had no preferences. The results indicate the need for long-term studies of HR-6 in patients with impaired mucociliary function.