STUDIES ON PULMONARY SECRETIONS .2. OSMOLALITY AND IONIC ENVIRONMENT OF PULMONARY SECRETIONS FROM PATIENTS WITH CYSTIC FIBROSIS BRONCHIECTASIS AND LARYNGECTOMY

Abstract

The inorganic constituents of pulmonary secretions are, for the most part, present in ionized form and are dialyzable to about the same extent in all 3 types of secretions. A progressive decrease in Na, Cl, and total ash and increase in K, diffusible carbohydrate, and free amino acids is observed as one moves from the relatively uninfected laryngectomy secretions to the more purulent bronchiectasis secretions and finally to the very purulent cystic fibrosis secretions. Proportional to the degree of infection, the organic constituents of the secretions are increased as the inorganic constituents decrease. No significant differences in total osmolality were observed between the 3 types of secretions, all of which were somewhat hypertonic compared to serum. These data support the hypothesis that infection plays a major role in determining the over-all chemical composition of the pulmonary secretions in patients with cystic fibrosis.