Aerobic exercise training in Kartagener's syndrome: case report

Kartagener's syndrome is a rare, autosomal recessive inherited disease, which is characterized by a triad of chronic sinusitis, bronchiectasis, and situs inversus. In this report, we aimed to represent the effect of aerobic exercise training in addition to chest physiotherapy in an outpatient with Kartagener's syndrome. An 18-year-old female diagnosed with Kartagener's syndrome applied with the complaints of productive cough and dyspnea with exertion and attended pulmonary rehabilitation program comprising exercise training in addition to standard treatment. Aerobic exercise training was performed three times weekly at 80% of the peak heart rate, for 8 weeks as supervised sessions. Respiratory physiotherapy and postural exercises were taught to the patient to be performed at home each day of the week. Before and after pulmonary rehabilitation program, incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT) was performed; dyspnea and fatigue were assessed using Borg Scale. Pulmonary function test was evaluated using spirometer. The patient wore activity monitor for 7 consecutive days before and after training. After pulmonary rehabilitation program, 90-m increase in ISWT was observed. We recommend exercise training in patients with Kartagener's syndrome to increase exercise capacity. Further randomized control trial is needed to clarify the effects.