Impairment of nasal mucociliary clearance after radiotherapy for childhood head cancer.

Background Radiotherapy of the head region in children is known to cause long-term sequelae, such as facial, dental, and ocular abnormalities. We investigated whether a decreased nasal mucociliary function occurs after radiotherapy of the head in children. Methods A saccharin/charcoal test was performed in 20 children treated with radiotherapy of the head and in 20 controls, age-matched and gender-matched. Results We found a decreased nasal mucociliary clearance (lower percentage of responses (p = 0083) and longer mucociliary transport times (p = .0001) in the patients compared with the controls. The radiotherapy dosage influenced the response to the test (p = .0046). Conclusions Irradiatio…