Abnormal respiratory motile cilium physiology Reduced respiratory ciliary beating frequency 2020-09-20T13:24:25Z Dminished respiratory ciliary beat frequency An abnormal reduction in the number of beats per unit time of the respiratory cilia. Respiratory cilia beat in a coordinated manner with a specific frequency and pattern, clearing mucus and debris from the airways. In primary ciliary dyskinesia cilia are either stationary or beat in a slow or dyskinetic fashion. Impaired mucociliary clearance in these patients is associated with recurrent chest infections, which may lead to bronchiectasis and sinusitis. The diagnosis of primary ciliary dyskinesia is made on the basis of a supportive clinical history and an abnormal ciliary beat frequency accompanied in most cases by specific abnormalities of the ciliary axoneme on electron microscopy.