Bronchiectasis

Dysphagia is the most common symptom in symptomatic patients with aberrant right subclavian artery (ARSA) and also the risk factor of aspiration, especially in elderly patients. We presented an 84 year-old female patient with dysphagia induced by the compression of ARSA to the adjacent structures. Recurrent pneumonia and bi-basilar bronchiectasis were recorded in the association with ARSA. We concluded that elderly patient with ARSA should be evaluated the pulmonary complications such as aspiration pneumonia and bronchiectasis.

Background and aims: Currently, there is not a uniform consensus regarding the number of criteria or specific cutoff values for the variety of tests that are used to diagnose allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA). Traditionally, an eosinophil count >1000 cells/l is considered an important criterion in the diagnosis of ABPA. The goal of this study was to delineate the significance of the peripheral blood eosinophil count in the diagnosis of ABPA, and the relationship between eosinophil counts and lung function and immunological and radiological parameters. Methods: This study was a retrospective analysis of the data from ABPA patients who were managed in our chest clinic. Based on their eosinophil count, the patients were classified into the following three categories: <500, 500-1000 and >1000 cells/l. The spirometric, immunological and radiological characteristics were also assessed. Results: We studied 108 males and 101 females with a combined mean (±SD) age of 34.1 ± 12.5 years. The median (IQR) eosinophil count at diagnosis was 850 (510-1541) cells/l, and 60% of the patients had an eosinophil count of <1000 cells/l. We found no relationship between eosinophil count and lung function using spirometry and other immunological parameters. The median eosinophil count was higher in patients with an high resolution computed tomography (HRCT)

SSK Göztepe Training Hospital, Istanbul , Turkey 23.4% of the patients required surgery. The annual lower respiratory infection rate has decreased from a mean of 6.6 8 4.0 to 2.9 8 2.9 during follow-up (p ! 0.0001). Lung function tests were also found to be improved (mean FEV 1 % 63.3 8 21.0 vs. 73.9 8 27.9; p = 0.01; mean FVC% 68.1 8 22.2 vs. 74.0 8 24.8; p = 0.04). There was clinical improvement in both the surgical (73%) and medical (70.1%) groups (p 1 0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, bronchiectasis remains a disease of concern to pediatricians, particularly in developing countries. Infections are still important causes of bronchiectasis, and clinical improvement can be achieved by appropriate treatment. Although medical treatment is the mainstay of management, surgery should be considered in selected patients.

Purpose. Social limitations in addition to treatment failure, despite preventive precautions and aggressive medical treatment, are the main indications for surgery in patients with bronchiectasis. The aim of this study was to evaluate all aspects of treatment outcomes in surgically treated patients with bronchiectasis. Methods. Ninety-two patients with bronchiectasis treated by a surgical resection between January 2002 and June 2007 were included in the study. Age, sex, symptoms, etiologic factors, radiological fi ndings, surgical procedures, postoperative morbidity and mortality, and hospital stay were analyzed. Results. Fifty-four patients were female and 38 were male, with an average age of 38.7 (range, 10-67) years, and 84.8% were symptomatic. The etiologic factors included frequent infections (37%), childhood infections (22%), tuberculosis (12%), foreign bodies (3%), and unknown causes (26%). Ten pneumonectomies, 36 lobectomies, 2 bilobectomies, 32 lobectomies and segmentectomies, and 12 segmentectomies were performed. The morbidity was 16%, the mortality was 1%, and the mean follow-up duration was 15.3 months. Follow-up data were obtained in 75 patients of whom 63 (84%) were asymptomatic, 8 (10.7%) were symptomatic with clinical improvement, and 4 (5.3%) had had no clinical improvement. Conclusion. Despite the advances in preventive precautions, medical treatment, and follow-up, surgery, with its low mortality and morbidity rates, remains a good alternative in selected patients in the treatment of bronchiectasis, and fulfi lls the clinical and social improvement expectations of patients.

This document is an update of Guidelines published in 2005 and now includes scientific publications through to May 2010. It provides evidence-based recommendations for the most common management questions occurring in routine clinical practice in the management of adult patients with LRTI. Topics include management outside hospital, management inside hospital (including community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD), acute exacerbations of bronchiectasis) and prevention. The target audience for the Guideline is thus all those whose routine practice includes the management of adult LRTI.

The Quality of Life-Bronchiectasis (QOL-B), a self-administered, patient-reported outcome measure assessing symptoms, functioning and health-related quality of life for patients with non-cystic fibrosis (CF) bronchiectasis, contains 37 items on 8 scales (Respiratory Symptoms, Physical, Role, Emotional and Social Functioning, Vitality, Health Perceptions and Treatment Burden). Psychometric analyses of QOL-B V.3.0 used data from two double-blind, multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase III trials of aztreonam for inhalation solution (AZLI) in 542 patients with non-CF bronchiectasis and Gram-negative endobronchial infection. Excellent internal consistency (Cronbach&#39;s α ≥0.70) and 2-week test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients ≥0.72) were demonstrated for each scale. Convergent validity with 6 min walk test was observed for Physical and Role Functioning scores. No floor or ceiling effects (baseline scores of 0 or 100) were found for the Respiratory Sy...

The incidence of bronchiectasis has probably declined in developed countries in recent years, but no reliable statistical data on this are available. The present paper describes the use made of hospital services by bronchiectatic patients in Finland. Data on a total of 12 539 treatment periods for bronchiectasis that had occurred between 1972 and 1992 were collected from the discharge register maintained by the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (diagnosis 518 in the International Classification of Diseases up to 1986, and 494 from 1987 onwards). The number of admissions, new occurrences of bronchiectasis and days in hospital were calculated by sex and age in relation to the total population at the end of each year. There were 143 and 87 admissions per million inhabitants in 1972 and 1992, respectively. The admissions, new occurrences and the days in hospital all decreased, at annual rates of 1.3, 4.2 and 5.7%, respectively. Thus, where the number of new occurrences was 50 per million persons in 1977, it was 27 per million in 1992. In summary, bronchiectasis-related hospital treatment declined markedly between 1972 and 1992. Trend is attributed to effective treatment of pulmonary infections and the reduction in tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of major health problems in the world, with high morbidity and mortality rates. According to Global Tuberculosis Report 2015, Indonesia ranks as country with the 2nd highest number of TB cases in the world. Airway was described as a 'gateway' to the main pathogens, allergens and particles from the external environment. It has surveillance function that filtering beneficial and non-beneficial antigens, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) as the causative agent of TB. MTB is a mucosal transmitted pathogen, infects human through mucosal tissue of respiratory tract. Airway mucosa was considered as the first barrier as well as inductive sites to initiate mucosal immune response against MTB. In this literature, the role of mucosal immune system, in this case especially airway mucosa, and its role against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in humans will be further discussed.

Bronchiectasis is a chronic respiratory disease which recognises different etiologies, and characterised by persistent cough, bronchial hypersecretion, airway colonisation with Gram-negative pathogens; frequent infectious exacerbations; progressive lung function decline, and poor quality of life. Several therapeutic strategies are used for managing bronchiectasis, and nebulised medications are regarded with great and ever increasing interest because they allow the direct medication of targets airway structures, higher concentrations of the drug employed, and much less systemic effects. In general terms, the available therapeutic strategies lead to different results depending of whether bronchiectasis are related to cystic fibrosis or not. The effects of the main classes of drugs for aerosol delivery in bronchiectasis patients have been reviewed and updated. Further research is needed in order to ameliorate therapeutic interventions in bronchiectasis, both in terms of new molecules a...

Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is a common worldwide lung infection. The radiological features show considerable variation, but in most cases they are characteristic enough to suggest the diagnosis. Classically, tuberculosis is divided into primary, common in childhood, and postprimary, usually presenting in adults. The most characteristic radiological feature in primary tuberculosis is lymphadenopathy. On enhanced CT, hilar and mediastinal nodes with a central hypodense area suggest the diagnosis. Cavitation is the hallmark of postprimary tuberculosis and appears in around half of patients. Patchy, poorly defined consolidation in the apical and posterior segments of the upper lobes, and in the superior segment of the lower lobe is also commonly observed.

To investigate hospital admissions for non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis during July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2013; and to describe their distribution and annual cost in New Zealand. Admissions with a principal diagnosis of bronchiectasis (ICD10 J47), excluding cystic fibrosis, and length of stay &lt;90 days were analysed by age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic deprivation, DHB, re-admissions and seasonality. There were 5,494 admissions with a mean annual rate of 25.7 (age adjusted rate 20.4) per 100,000. Admission rates peaked in childhood and in the elderly, and increased steeply with socioeconomic deprivation. Age-adjusted rates were 38% higher for women, 4.9-fold higher for Māori and 9.1-fold higher for Pacific peoples. Counties Manukau had the highest unadjusted rate for any DHB (49.4 per 100,000). The overall 30 day readmission rate was 12.4%. Admissions peaked in winter and spring. The estimated cost in financial year 2012/13 was NZD 5.34M. Hospital admissions for bronchiectasis ar...

The vicious cycle hypothesis for bronchiectasis predicts that bacterial colonisation of the respiratory tract perpetuates inflammatory change. This damages the mucociliary escalator, preventing bacterial clearance and allowing persistence of pro-inflammatory mediators. Conventional treatment with physiotherapy and intermittent antibiotics is believed to improve the condition of people with bronchiectasis, although no conclusive data show that these interventions influence the natural history of the condition. Various strategies have been tried to interrupt this cycle of infection and inflammation, including prolonging antibiotic treatment with the goal of allowing the airway mucosa to heal. To determine the benefits of prolonged antibiotic therapy in the treatment of patients with bronchiectasis. We searched the Cochrane Airways Group Trials Register and reference lists of identified articles. Searches were current as of February 2014. Randomised trials examining the use of prolonge...

The syndrome of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) consists of chronic bronchitis (CB), bronchiectasis, emphysema, and reversible airway disease that combine uniquely in an individual patient. Older patients are at risk for COPD and its componentsFemphysema, CB, and bronchiectasis. Bacterial and viral infections play a role in acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) and in acute exacerbations of CB (AECB) without features of COPD. Older patients are at risk for resistant bacterial organisms during their episodes of AECOPD and AECB. Organisms include the more-common bacteria implicated in AECOPD/ AECB such as Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. Less-common nonenteric, gram-negative organisms including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, gram-positive organisms including Staphylococcus aureus, and strains of nontuberculosis Mycobacteria are more often seen in AECOPD/AECB episodes involving elderly patients with frequent episodes of CB or those with bronchiectasis. Risk-stratified antibiotic treatment guidelines appear useful for purulent episodes of AECOPD and episodes of AECB. These guidelines have not been prospectively validated for the general population and especially not for the elderly population. Using a risk-stratification approach for elderly patients, first-line antibiotics (e.g., amoxicillin, ampicillin, pivampicillin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and doxycycline), with a more-limited spectrum of antibacterial coverage, are used in patients who are likely to have a low probability of resistant organisms during AECOPD/AECB. Second-line antibiotics (e.g., amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, second-or third-generation cephalosporins, and respiratory fluoroquinolones) with a broader spectrum of coverage are reserved for patients with significant risk factors for resistant organisms and those who have failed initial antibiotic treatment. J Am Geriatr Soc 58:570-579, 2010.

In view of the conflicting notions of the relationship between bronchiectasis and asthma, we have analysed the use of hospital services by bronchiectasis and asthma patients and evaluated the links between these diseases, employing data from the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register of over 21 million hospitalization periods recorded in 1972–92. We conclude that asthma is common in hospitalized bronchiectasis patients and appears to be consequent upon this disease.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is isolated in sputum cultures from cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and adults with bronchiectasis (BS) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but it is not well known if the characteristics of colonization in these latter patients are similar to those with CF. We examined 125 P. aeruginosa isolates obtained from 31 patients suffering from these diseases by pulsed field gel electrophoresis and genotyping of mucA and fpvA genes. The pattern of colonization, with dominance of a clonal strain and incidence of mucoid phenotypes, was similar in every group of patients; however, in some CF and BS patients, we detected the replacement or coexistence of 2 main clones. The main differences were found in the nucleotide position of less common mucA mutations, other than mucA22, and in the predominance of the different types of the pyoverdine receptor. Our results support a similar colonization pattern by P. aeruginosa in the different obstructive pulmonary diseases.

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is a hypersensitivity reaction due to a fungus, Aspergillus fumigatus. It is typically seen in patients with long-standing asthma. Our patient was a non-asthmatic 18 years old male who presented with chronic cough for 2 years. Peripheral blood eosinophilia and elevated serum IgE were observed. His x-ray chest revealed v-shaped opacity in the left upper lobe close to the hilum. High resolution computed tomographic scan of the chest revealed multiple dilated bronchi filled with mucous (bronchoceles) and central bronchiectasis (CB) involving main segmental bronchi. Central bronchiectasis (CB) was typical of ABPA but bronchocele formation was a rare manifestation of the disease. The patient was managed with oral prednisolone and was relieved of his symptoms. Occurrence of ABPA in non-asthmatics is very rare and deserves reporting.

Microorganisms, particularly bacteria, are frequently found in the lower airways of COPD patients, both in stable state and during exacerbations. The hostepathogen relationship in COPD is a complex, dynamic process characterised by frequent changes in pathogens, their strains and loads, and subsequent host immune responses.

Background: Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are ubiquitous environmental organisms. Patients with pre-existing lung damage are susceptible to NTM, but their prevalence in bronchiectasis is unknown. Distinguishing between lung colonisation and disease can be difficult. Methods: A prospective study of 100 patients with bronchiectasis was undertaken to evaluate the prevalence of NTM in sputum, and a retrospective analysis of clinical, microbiological, lung function and radiology data of our clinic patients with NTM sputum isolates over 11 years was performed. Results: The prevalence of NTM in this population of patients with bronchiectasis was 2%. Patients in the retrospective study were divided into three groups: bronchiectasis + multiple NTM isolates (n = 25), bronchiectasis + single isolates (n = 23), and non-bronchiectasis + multiple isolates (n = 22). Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) species predominated in patients with bronchiectasis compared with non-bronchiectasis lung disease (72% v 9%, p,0.0001). Single isolates were also frequently MAC (45.5%). Multiple isolates in bronchiectasis were more often smear positive on first sample than single isolates (p,0.0001). NTM were identified on routine screening samples or because of suggestive radiology. No particular bronchiectasis aetiology was associated with an NTM. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus were frequently co-cultured. Six (25%) of multiple NTM patients had cavities of which five were due to MAC. Half the patients with multiple isolates were treated, mostly due to progressive radiology. Conclusions: NTM are uncommon in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis. Routine screening identifies otherwise unsuspected patients. MAC is the most frequent NTM isolated.

Old tuberculosis and bronchiectasis are the two most important causes of chronic structural changes of lungs in our locality. In the absence of radiologically visible mycetoma, the cause of hemoptysis in these two groups of patients is largely unknown. A 17-month prospective study was carried out to compare the prevalence of Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus antibodies in hemoptysis patients with old tuberculosis or bronchiectasis but no radiologically visible mycetoma (cases, n ‫؍‬ 38), hemoptysis patients with other diagnosis (control group 1, n ‫؍‬ 29), and patients with old tuberculosis or bronchiectasis but no hemoptysis (control group 2, n ‫؍‬ 47) by a recently developed sensitive and specific A. fumigatus and A. flavus antibody assay. There were a significantly larger number of patients with antibody against A. fumigatus or A. flavus among the cases than among the patients in control groups 1 and 2 (P < 0.05 in both comparisons). Molds were not recovered from any of the patients. Among the 10 cases with Aspergillus antibody, eight and two had antibody against A. flavus and A. fumigatus, respectively. We conclude that there was an association between the presence of Aspergillus antibodies and hemoptysis in patients with old tuberculosis or bronchiectasis, suggesting that these patients probably had occult infections caused by the corresponding fungi. Development of serological tests against other Aspergillus species as well as other causes of mycetoma will probably increase the detection of occult mold infections in patients with existing parenchymal lung diseases, and treatment of fungal microinvasion may help to alleviate hemoptysis in these patients with bronchiectasis or old tuberculosis who have Aspergillus antibodies.

Conclusion: In spite of the heterogeneity between included studies and detectable publication bias, this meta-analysis demonstrated the impact of bronchiectasis in patients with COPD in all directions, indicating that coexistence of bronchiectasis should be considered a pathological phenotype of COPD, which may have a predictive value.

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Introduction: Surgical resection offers the only realistic chance of permanent cure for pulmonary aspergilloma. This prospective study was designed to evaluate our indications and surgical outcome of pulmonary aspergilloma with analysis of postoperative complications. Patients and methods: Between 2001 and 2008, 42 patients underwent surgical treatment for pulmonary aspergilloma at Zagazig University Hospital. The patients were divided into two groups, group A (simple aspergilloma) n = 12 and group B (complex aspergilloma) n = 30. Results: Group A consisted of eight male and four female patients with a mean age of 43 AE 11.3 years. Group B consisted of 20 male and 10 female patients with a mean age of 46 AE 12 years. The most common presentation and indication for surgery was hemoptysis (83.3%) in both groups. The common underlying lung diseases were tuberculosis (40.4%), bronchiectasis (33.3%) and lung abscess (11.9%). The common surgical procedure performed was lobectomy (85.7%), followed by pneumonectomy (6.7%), segmentectomy (8.3%), cavernoplasty (4.7%) and bilobectomy (6.7%). The postoperative mortality was 3.3% in group B only. Postoperative non-fatal complications occurred in 12 patients (28.5%) in both groups. The complications included prolonged air leak (2.3%), bleeding (4.7%), wound infection (2.3%), empyema (7.1%), bronchopleural fistula (2.3%) and one patient developed chylothorax after lobectomy (2.3%). The mean follow-up period was (25.5 AE 17 months). The survival rate at 5 years was 91.6% and 83.3% in group A and group B respectively and there was no recurrence of disease or hemoptysis. Conclusion: Surgical treatment of pulmonary aspergilloma is the most effective treatment; pulmonary resection is the treatment of choice when indicated and in unstable surgical patients, palliative procedures chosen in bad cardiopulmonary function. #

Bronchiectasis is the end result of several different diseases that share principles of management. The clinical course usually involves chronic bronchial infection and inflammation, which are associated with progression. The cause of bronchiectasis should always be investigated, particularly when it can be treated. We recommend evaluating etiology, symptoms, bronchial colonization and infection, respiratory function, inflammation, structural damage, nutritional status, and quality of life in order to assess severity and to monitor clinical course. Care should be supervised by specialized units, at least in cases of chronic bronchial infection, recurrent exacerbations, or when there is a cause that is likely to respond to treatment. Improving symptoms and halting progression are the goals of management, which is based on treatment of the underlying cause and of acute or chronic infections and on the drainage of secretions. Complications that arise must also be treated. Antibiotic pr...

This case illustrates the reopening of foramen ovale in a young patient with chronic pulmonary hypertension caused by bronchiectasis and chronic pulmonary fibrosis, which resulted in a prominent right-to-left shunt and severe hypoxia. Her clinically unsuspected right-to-left shunt was discovered during ventilation-perfusion scan, which was performed for the evaluation of pulmonary embolism. She had common variable immune deficiency, a primary immunodeficiency disease in which B-lymphocytes produce few or no antibodies. Most patients with this syndrome have an intrinsic defect in their B-lymphocytes that results in reduced immunoglobulin production. In these patients, recurrent respiratory tract infections are common and may result in chronic lung disease, fibrosis, particularly bronchiectasis (20 -30%) and even cor pulmonale as happened in our patient [1] [J. Clin. Immunol. 9 (1989) 22 -33]. D

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Mycobacterium simiae is a slow-growing mycobacteria that in rare cases can cause chronic pulmonary infection. We report the first case of lung transplantation in a patient with active M simiae infection at the time of transplantation. A 56-year-old immunocompetent nonsmoking woman underwent bilateral lung transplantation for end-stage idiopathic bronchiectasis and chronic M simiae infection. The disease proved manageable on a regimen of clarithromycin, moxifloxacin, and cotrimoxazole with a successful outcome 1-year posttransplantation. There is increasing evidence that nontuberculous mycobacterium infection should no longer be an absolute contraindication for lung transplantation.

Bronchiectasis is currently growing in importance due to both the increase in the number of diagnoses made as well as the negative impact that its presence has on the baseline disease that generates it. A fundamental aspect in these patients is the colonization and infection of the bronchial mucous by potentially pathogenic microorganisms (PPM), which are the cause in most cases of the start of the chronic inflammatory process that results in the destruction and dilatation of the bronchial tree that is characteristic in these patients. The treatment of the colonization and chronic bronchial infection in these patients should be based on prolonged antibiotic therapy in its different presentations. Lately, the inhaled form is becoming especially prominent due to its high efficacy and limited production of important adverse effects. However, one must not overlook the fact that the management of patients with bronchiectasis should be multidisciplinary and multidimensional. In addition to antibiotic treatment, the collaboration of different medical and surgical specialties is essential for the management of the exacerbations, nutritional aspects, respiratory physiotherapy, muscle rehabilitation, complications, inflammation and bronchial hyperreactivity and the hypersecretion that characterizes these patients.

Pathogenic bronchopulmonary colonizations and the exacerbations produced are among the most important causes of reduced pulmonary function in patients with bronchiectasis. The most frequent pathogens in these patients are Haemophilus influenzae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Lesions are produced by the local inflammatory process and the vicious circle developed by antigen stimulation, the release of inflammatory mediators, the presence of neutrophils, the increase of bacterial inoculum and the release of bacterial exoproducts. P. aeruginosa has been demonstrated to affect the patients with bronchiectasis and poorest quality of life and to colonize those with the poorest pulmonary function and the highest number of antimicrobial treatments. In bronchiectasis, as in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or cystic fibrosis, P. aeruginosa is able to colonize the respiratory mucosa chronically. Due to the ecological niche occupied by P. aeruginosa and the multitude of cycles with antimicrobial agents to which these patients are subjected, the development of antimicrobial resistance is highly likely, encouraged by the high proportion of hypermutation variants in existence. Likewise, P. aeruginosa naturally grows in the form of biofilms on the mucosal surface, greatly contributing to its persistence. Antimicrobial treatment in patients with bronchiectasis and P. aeruginosa colonization should be based on antimicrobial agents, alone or in combination, that do not lose activity when acting on biofilms.