Nasal scraping in diagnosing ciliary dyskinesia.

BACKGROUND

Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a congenital, clinically and ultrastructurally heterogeneous disease caused by abnormal structure and/or function of cilia. Kartagener's syndrome is one subgroup of PCD. Acquired ciliary dyskinesia is frequent, generally being associated with or following respiratory tract infections.

METHODS

From January 2003 to April 2006, nasal mucociliary transport time was measured in 64 patients and specimens obtained by nasal scraping were examined by transmission electron microscope (TEM).

RESULTS

The 64 nasal scrapings led to the diagnosis of 11 (17.2%) cases of PCD and 51 (79.7%) cases of secondary ciliary disorder. In two cases (3.1%) no clear diagnosis was possible.

CONCLUSION

Nasal scraping is an easy, cheap, and efficient tool for detecting ciliary abnormalities by TEM and for distinguishing acquired and congenital modifications.