Ciliary beat frequency of human middle-ear mucosa measured in vitro

Brush biopsies from the middle-ear (ME) and nasal mucosa were taken from a 4-year-old girl with complete situs inversus, recurrent otitis media and tonsillitis, who underwent tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy and bilateral myringotomy with insertion of ventilation tubes. Ciliary beat frequencies (CBF, Hz.) of the ME and nasal samples, measured by a photoelectric system equipped with a fiber-optic probe, were 9.5 Hz. (+/- 1.2) and 13.7 Hz. (+/- 4.1) respectively. These values are similar to CBF of nasal samples obtained from normal subjects. In vitro CBF assessment is a useful investigative tool for the study of mucociliary activity in the ME, as in patients suspected to have ciliary dyskinesia syndrome.