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Bronchiectasis

Bronchiectasia · Bronchiektázie

What it is

Airways widen permanently and pool infected mucus.

Symptoms & signs

  • Daily large-volume sputum
  • recurrent chest infections
  • coughing blood
  • breathlessness
  • clubbing

🚩 Get help if…

  • call 112 / 911 now Coughing up more than a spoonful of blood
  • call 112 / 911 now Struggling to breathe, blue lips or confusion
  • see a doctor soon More or darker phlegm with fever
  • see a doctor soon Breathlessness worse than usual

Where it strikes

Medical treatment

  • Airway clearance physiotherapy
  • targeted antibiotics
  • nebulised saline
  • macrolide prophylaxis
  • treat the cause
  • brensocatib (Brinsupri), a DPP-1 inhibitor — FDA-approved 2025; fewer flare-ups in the ASPEN trial

Natural & lifestyle

  • Twice-daily clearance routine
  • hydration
  • exercise
  • vaccination
  • nebulised hypertonic saline

Emerging & experimental

  • Inhaled antibiotic formulations

Alternative, off-label & anecdotal

Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.

  • N-acetylcysteine or carbocisteine — small trials show fewer flare-ups early / small studies
  • Singing and harmonica breathing — small trials, better clearance and mood early / small studies
  • Manuka honey, eucalyptus steam — traditional; not tested anecdotal / traditional

ICD codes