TREATMENT Bronchiectasis
Treatment of infectious bronchiectasis is directed at the control of active infection and improvements in secretion clearance and bronchial hygiene so as to decrease the microbial load within the airways and minimize the risk of repeated infections.
ANTIBIOTIC TREATMENT Antibiotics targeting the causative or presumptive pathogen (with Haemophilus influenzae and P. aeruginosa isolated commonly) should be administered in acute exacerbations, usually for a minimum of 7–10 days and perhaps for as long as 14 days. Decisions about treatment of NTM infection can be difficult, given that these organisms can be colonizers as well as pathogens and the prolonged treatment course often is not well tolerated. Consensus guidelines have advised that diagnostic criteria for true clinical infection with NTM should be considered in patients with symptoms and radiographic findings of lung disease who have at least two sputum samples positive on culture; at least one bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid sample positive on culture; a biopsy sample displaying histopathologic features of NTM infection (e.g., granuloma or a positive stain for acid-fast bacilli) along with one positive sputum culture; or a pleural fluid sample (or a sample from another sterile extrapulmonary site) positive on culture. MAC strains are the most common NTM pathogens, and the recommended regimen for HIV-negative patients includes a macrolide combined with rifampin and ethambutol. Consensus guidelines also recommend macrolide susceptibility testing for clinically significant MAC isolates.
BRONCHIAL HYGIENE The numerous approaches used to enhance secretion clearance in bronchiectasis include hydration and mucolytic administration, aerosolization of bronchodilators and hyperosmolar agents (e.g., hypertonic saline), and chest physiotherapy (e.g., postural drainage, traditional mechanical chest percussion via hand clapping to the chest, or use of devices such as an oscillatory positive expiratory pressure flutter valve or a high-frequency chest wall oscillation vest). Pulmonary rehabilitation and a regular exercise program may assist with secretion clearance as well as with other aspects of bronchiectasis, including improved exercise capacity and quality of life. The mucolytic dornase (DNase) is recommended routinely in CF-related bronchiectasis but not in non-CF bronchiectasis, given concerns about lack of efficacy and potential harm in the non-CF population.
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY THERAPY It has been proposed that control of the inflammatory response may be of benefit in bronchiectasis, and relatively small-scale trials have yielded evidence of alleviated dyspnea, decreased need for inhaled β-agonists, and reduced sputum production with inhaled glucocorticoids. However, no significant differences in lung function or bronchiectasis exacerbation rates have been observed. Risks of immunosuppression and adrenal suppression must be carefully considered with use of anti-inflammatory therapy in infectious bronchiectasis. Nevertheless, administration of oral/systemic glucocorticoids may be important in treatment of bronchiectasis due to certain etiologies, such as ABPA, or of noninfectious bronchiectasis due to underlying conditions, especially that in which an autoimmune condition is believed to be active (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis or Sjögren’s syndrome). Patients with ABPA may also benefit from a prolonged course of treatment with the oral antifungal agent itraconazole.
REFRACTORY CASES In select cases, surgery can be considered, with resection of a focal area of suppuration. In advanced cases, lung transplantation can be considered.