Bronchiectasis Flashcards
What is bronchiectasis?
Involves permanent dilation/widening of the bronchi, leading to the buildup of mucus, chronic cough, continuous sputum production and recurrent infections.
what are the causes of damage to airways in bronchiectasis?
- idiopathic
- pneumonia
- whooping cough
- tuberculosis
- alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency
- CF
- yellow nail syndrome
which three conditions is yellow nail syndrome characterized by?
- yellow nails
- bronchiectasis
- lymphoedema
what are the symptoms of bronchiectasis?
- shortness of breath
- chronic productive cough
- recurrent chest infections
- weight loss
what are the clinical signs of bronchiectasis?
- sputum pot on the bedside
- weight loss
- finger clubbing
- raised JVP
- peripheral edema
- scattered crackles throughout the chest that change or clear with coughing
- scattered wheezes and squeaks
What further investigations are done for bronchiectasis? and what are their findings?
sputum culture to identify infective organism- usually hemophilus influenza and pseudomonas aeruginosa
Chest x-rays- tram-track opacities and ring shadows
high resolution CT- used to come to a diagnosis
what is the management plan for bronchiectasis?
- vaccines (pneunococcal and influenza)
- respiratory physiotherapy
- pulmonary rehab
- long-term antibiotics
- long-acting bronchodilators
- long term oxygen therapy
- surgical lung resection
lung transplant
The main things to remember for bronchiectasis are: (in terms of clinical signs, diagnostic tools and treatment)
- finger clubbing
- diagnosis by HRCT
- Pseudomonas colonisation and extended courses of 7-14 days of antibiotics for exacerbations.
