Hallmarks of severe bronchiectasis include fetid breath, chronic cough, and sputum production. The associated chronic respiratory infections and airway sepsis are punctuated by episodes of acute exacerbation.
Healthcare providers categorize bronchiectasis based on what the damage to your airways looks like — cylindrical (or tubular), varicose or cystic. Cylindrical bronchiectasis is the most common and least serious form of bronchiectasis. Cystic bronchiectasis is the most severe form.
Bronchiectasis harms the walls of the airways. Over time, they become scarred, inflamed, and widened. They then can't clear out mucus. This damage can lead to serious lung infections and other major health problems.
Common complications include recurrent pneumonia requiring hospitalization, empyema, lung abscess, progressive respiratory failure, and cor pulmonale. Additional complications include chronic bronchial infection, and pneumothorax. Life-threatening hemoptysis may occur but is uncommon.
Complications of bronchiectasis are rare, but they can be serious. One of the most serious complications is coughing up large amounts of blood, caused by one of the blood vessels in the lungs splitting. This problem can be life-threatening and may require emergency surgery to treat it.
Bronchiectasis can affect just one section of one of your lungs or many sections of both lungs. It can lead to serious health problems, such as respiratory failure, a collapsed lung, and heart failure.
If properly treated and monitored, most people with bronchiectasis have a normal life expectancy. People with bronchiectasis are more likely to die because of other medical conditions that affect all people (like heart disease or cancer) than to die directly from bronchiectasis.
How quickly bronchiectasis progresses can vary significantly. For some people, the condition will get worse quickly, but for many the progression is slow.
Bronchiectasis complications include pneumonia, lung abscess, empyema, septicemia, cor pulmonale, respiratory failure, secondary amyloidosis with nephrotic syndrome, and recurrent pleurisy.
The most common symptom of bronchiectasis is a persistent cough that brings up a large amount of phlegm on a daily basis. The phlegm can be clear, pale yellow or yellow-greenish in colour. Some people may only occasionally cough up small amounts of phlegm, or none at all.
This leads to mucus (or sputum) building up and making you more at risk of getting lung infections. Infections can cause the lungs to become inflamed, which can damage or block parts of the lung, leading to symptoms like breathlessness, chest pain and tiredness.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to colistimethate sodium powder for nebulization solution (CMS I–neb®) for the reduction in the incidence of pulmonary exacerbations in adults with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB) colonized with P. aeruginosa.
This study, alongside the present study by Navaratnam and colleagues, provides compelling evidence that bronchiectasis is associated with elevated cardiac risk, that exacerbation frequency is associated with cardiac events, and that the severity of bronchiectasis is directly linked to elevated cardiac risk.
Over half of patients with bronchiectasis are over 65 years old and the condition tends to be more severe in the elderly.
Bronchiectasis, a heterogeneous disease that contributes to a considerable healthcare burden, is potentially associated with a higher risk of lung cancer development.
Chest wall pain may be due to respiratory muscle fatigue or overuse and may affect both children and adults (King 2012). It may be triggered by coughing or airway clearance therapy. For this reason, this symptom may intensify during an acute exacerbation of bronchiectasis.
Bronchiectasis may be related to diseases in multiple body systems, including the neurological system, and is associated with an increased risk of stroke and cerebral infection, impaired cognitive function and impact on sleep quality in patients with bronchiectasis.
Living with bronchiectasis can be stressful and frustrating. However, most people with the condition have few symptoms and a normal life expectancy. For people with very severe symptoms, however, bronchiectasis can be fatal if the lungs stop working properly.
The resulting positive effect on airway clearance and secretion expectoration is due to both gravity assisting drainage and improved ventilation (Lannefors & Wollmer 1992, Zack et al 1974). Lying on the left side horizontally turned 45 degrees on to the face, resting against a pillow with another supporting the head.
People with respiratory conditions find it challenging to cope with a stressful situation due to their existing breathing difficulties and the inability to breathe in more oxygen. This can increase the risk of flare-ups.
Bronchiectasis is a common, progressive respiratory disease characterised by permanent dilatation of the bronchi and presenting with a clinical syndrome of cough, sputum production and recurrent respiratory infections.