Comparison of Respiratory Muscle Strength, Exercise Capacity and Physical Activity Levels in Children With Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia and Healthy Controls

Primary ciliary dyskinesia is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by abnormal ciliary movement and disrupted mucociliary clearance. In uncleaned airways, microorganisms and respiratory irritants cause inflammation and infection. Permanent rhinitis and chronic sputum cough are typical features in primary ciliary dyskinesia patients. Primary ciliary dyskinesia is a disease that threatens lung function from pre-school age. One of the main causes of respiratory muscle weakness in chronic lung diseases diseases is worsening of lung function. Such a weakness causes alveolar hypoventilation, microatelectasis, reduction of the cough strength .The cough strength is important for airway cleaning.

Exercise capacity is affected in chronic lung diseases. Assessment of exercise capacity in chronic lung diseases is prognostically important. Reduced exercise capacity and pulmonary function in PCD cause decrease in physical activity level. PCD patients have low quality of life and early recognition has been found to affect the quality of life positively. Children with chronic illness have higher level of depression than healthy children.

In literature, no study investigated respiratory muscle strength, exercise capacity and physical activity PCD patients. Therefore, the investigators aimed to compare aforementioned outcomes in PCD patients and healthy controls.