Kartagener's syndrome: causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis

By Cristiano Antonino On Sep 4, 2022

Kartagener’s syndrome is a special type of primary ciliary dyskinesia in which the ‘situs inversus with dextrocardia’ is also present, with the heart with a right apex and the liver on the left, i.e. in an inverted position compared to normal

To say that ‘Kartagener’s syndrome’ is synonymous with ‘primary ciliary dyskinesia’ is therefore a mistake, since Kartagener’s syndrome is a type of primary ciliary dyskinesia.

Kartagener’s syndrome accounts for approximately 50% of all primary ciliary dyskinesias

This syndrome is characterised by the triad

situs inversus (heart on the right and liver on the left);
chronic sinusitis (due to hypogenesis or agenesis of the paranasal sinuses);
bronchiectasis.

The effects of Kartagener’s syndrome can also be seen in the uterine tubes

In them the immobility of the cilia makes the progression of the oocyte towards the uterus difficult, which is however ensured by the peristaltic activity of the tubal musculature.

The disease can also adversely affect sperm mobility by acting directly on the microtubules that make up the flagellum: this leads to a reduction in fertility in both men and women.

Other congenital abnormalities of the heart and other organs may be present, such as interventricular septal defects, ectopia cordis and complete situs inversus.

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