Transitory ultrastructural abnormalities of cilia.

We report a patient with chronic respiratory tract disease and ultrastructural abnormalities of nasal cilia at first interpreted as being consistent with a primary ciliary defect. Subsequent sampling of nasal ciliated epithelium from the same area failed to reveal the defects of structure. Abnormalities of ciliary ultrastructure found on a single occasion, especially in the presence of acute inflammation, should be interpreted with caution.