Relationship Between Kartagener’s Syndrome and Internal Diseases: Coincidence or Coexistence

Kartagener’s syndrome (KS) is included in the group of diseases arising from primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) and is characterized by the triad of situs inversus, chronic sinusitis and bronchiectasis.Patients with PCD, including KS, may present with various manifestations, such as male and female infertility, olfactory disorders, ophthalmopathy and hydrocephalus resulting from ciliary dysfunction.In our review of the literature, many rheumatic, renal, and malignant diseases and KS relationships have been reported. We think, as suggested by other authors , that chronic infectious processes, impaired mucociliary clearance and chronic hypoxia may play an important role in the development of KS coincidence with internal diseases.We write this letter to draw attention to this issue.