The evaluation of ciliary function: electron versus light microscopy.

Diagnosing Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia can often be difficult. Physical findings suggest the disease, but definitive diagnosis should be made with a ciliary biopsy. Twenty biopsies were obtained from 16 patients and all underwent both light and electron microscopic examination. In 8/20 (40%) there was a discrepancy between the different imaging techniques. Therefore, light microscopy should be used to assess adequacy of biopsy and motion of the cilia along with electron microscopy to examine ultrastructure.