Respiratory and sleep medicine
Bronchiectasis
CT diagnosis, the aetiology screen, Pseudomonas and its prognosis, exacerbation treatment, airway clearance, long-term macrolides (EMBRACE, BAT, BLESS), inhaled antibiotics, brensocatib, and the burden in First Nations communities.
Tier 1Condition
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- Bronchiectasis is permanent dilatation of the bronchi on CT with a clinical syndrome of daily wet cough, sputum and recurrent chest infections.
- Neutrophilic inflammation, impaired mucociliary clearance and chronic infection drive each other in a vicious vortex. Treatment breaks it at several points.
- Every new diagnosis needs an aetiology screen, because some causes change management: immunodeficiency, ABPA, CF, PCD and NTM.
Loading the rest of the note…
Finished reading?
Sources
- Chronic suppurative lung disease and bronchiectasis in children, adolescents and adults in Australia and New Zealand: TSANZ position statement summaryAU/NZThoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (Medical Journal of Australia 2023;219(11), Grimwood et al; full statement Chang et al, Respirology 2023), 2023
- European Respiratory Society clinical practice guideline for the management of adult bronchiectasisEuropean Respiratory Society (European Respiratory Journal, Chalmers et al), 2025
- Management of adult bronchiectasis: CHEST guidelineAmerican College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), 2026
- Phase 3 trial of the DPP-1 inhibitor brensocatib in bronchiectasis (ASPEN)New England Journal of Medicine (Chalmers et al), 2025
- Effect of long-term, low-dose erythromycin on pulmonary exacerbations among patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (BLESS)JAMA (Serisier et al), 2013
- Azithromycin for prevention of exacerbations in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (EMBRACE)The Lancet (Wong et al), 2012
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
- 14 November 2026 Personal emails, About story and Australian-style copy