2018 Volume 40 Issue 1 Pages 31-35
Case. A 53-year-old man, who had been diagnosed which diffuse panbronchiolitis 9 years previously and who was treated with low-dose macrolide, was referred to our hospital because of worsening cough and sputa. Chest computed tomography showed the thickening of the bronchial walls and mild bronchiectasis in the central area rather than the peripheral area of both lung fields. An electron microscopic examination of biopsy specimens from the bronchial mucosa, which had been obtained by bronchoscopy, showed defects of the inner and outer dynein arms of the cilia. Although he did not have situs inversus, he was diagnosed with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD). Conclusion. Situs inversus has been reported to exist in only 50% of patients with PCD. Thus, PCD should be considered in the differential diagnoses of patients with repeated lower tract infection, even in patients without situs inversus.
