Diagnosis Early diagnosis is very important, because damage to airways and ears must be prevented. A preliminary test is the observation of the mucociliair transport. There are two ways to do this test. With these tests the saccharine or radio-active isotope is placed on the mucus in the nose. If the particles moved insufficiently then a deficiency of the mucociliair transport is likely.
Further investigation is needed.
If the particles did move sufficiently then PCD is not the case. With the isotope test the radio-activity is very low causing no harm at all. 1 hour is all it takes, afterwards it is a good idea to blow the nose getting rid of most of it. The cilia function can be observed through a microscope. The ciliair beat can be observed.