Design and Setting:
This is a prospective case-control study done in a tertiary care center wherein the nasal mucocilary function was assessed by saccharin test in patients who were tracheostomized for a period of more than 4 weeks and the saccharin transit time (time taken to appreciate the sweet taste after endoscopic insertion of saccharin pellet on anterior end of inferior turbinate) was compared by the same test in age and sex matched healthy individuals.
Main outcome measures: Clinical data, indication of tracheostomy and duration of tracheostomy were assessed for their impact on the nasal mucociliary clearance using saccharin transit time in the two groups which was then statistically analyzed using student t-test.