Middle ear ciliary defect in Kartagener's syndrome.

Patients with Kartagener's syndrome have shown electron photomicrographic abnormalities of nasal or bronchial cilia in addition to functional defects of mucociliary transport (immotile cilia syndrome). This report describes a boy with Kartagener's syndrome and chronic otitis media who demonstrates electron photomicrographic abnormalities of middle ear cilia, confirming the important role of cilia in providing protection against infection of the middle ear.