Immunoglobulin levels in porcine nasal and tracheal secretions--the influence of the method of collection.

Lavage and tampons were assessed, as methods of obtaining respiratory tract secretions, by comparing the immunoglobulin content of porcine nasal and tracheal secretions collected by both methods. The IgA: IgG ratio was lower in secretions collected on tampons than in those collected from a corresponding region of the tract by lavage. It is suggested that this difference was the result of epithelial damage caused by the tampon and leakage of serum proteins into the secretion. Lavage was adopted as the most suitable method of collecting respiratory tract secretions. There was no significant difference (P > 0.1) between the IgA: IgG ratio in nasal and tracheal secretions collected by this method.U