Introduction 

The diagnosis of bronchiectasis is challenging and the burden of treatment can be high. This study looked to understand themes around time to bronchiectasis diagnosis, treatment burden and maintenance of therapeutic devices.

Methods

An online survey was shared via social media platforms to bronchiectasis patients by a patient advocate. Questions related to: a) time to diagnosis b) time spent performing pulmonary therapy and use of device combinations c) lung infections, and d) ways to clean/disinfect and the time spent doing that.

Results

Conclusion

The results from the survey confirmed that a large proportion of patients experience significant time from onset of symptoms to formal diagnosis. Despite patients utilizing combination therapy in various forms, the burden of therapy along with cleaning / disinfecting their devices remains high. Based on these results, in addition to continuing to raise the awareness of bronchiectasis within the HCP community, there remains an onus on therapy manufacturers to develop time efficient and easy to clean/disinfect devices for these patients.