United Kingdom

Signs, Symptoms and Diagnosis

Symptoms and signs of bronchiectasis in children and adults include:

The most common symptom in bronchiectasis is cough

Common Symptoms

  • Persistent cough
  • Coughing up a lot of clear or coloured mucus or sputum. Colour can be an indicator of the presence of bacteria13
  • Feeling run-down or tired
  • Shortness of breath (breathlessness) that’s worse during flare-ups, also known as exacerbations
  • Wheezing
  • Coughing up blood or mucus mixed with blood, a condition called hemoptysis

Diagnosis

Tests used to diagnose bronchiectasis in children and adults include:14

  • Chest CT scan (computed tomography scan) to look at your lungs in more detail 
  • Mucus (sputum) culture to check for growth of bacteria
  • Blood tests to check for conditions associated with bronchiectasis, infection and low levels of infection-fighting blood cells
  • Bronchoscopy to look inside your airways. This procedure uses a small camera on the end of a tube called a bronchoscope
  • A sweat test or other tests to diagnose cystic fibrosis
nurse with mask points to an x-ray of the lung
 

Scoring systems for bronchiectasis can help your doctor to identify if you’re at higher risk. The Bronchiectasis Severity Index (BSI) uses a combination of clinical, radiological and microbiological features to assess the severity of your disease and to predict future risk of mortality, hospital admissions, exacerbations, and quality of life.15

 

References

1.International Respiratory Coalition. Lung Facts - Diseases - Bronchiectasis. https://international-respiratory-coalition.org/diseases/bronchiectasis/ (Last accessed January 17, 2024).

2. Martina Contarini. Bronchiectasis: a case-based approach to investigation and management. European Respiratory Review 2018;27:180016. https://err.ersjournals.com/content/27/149/180016.

3. Living with Bronchiectasis. British Lung Foundation 2017;BK33 Version 1. https://www.blf.org.uk/sites/default/files/BK33_Bronchiectasis_v1_2017_PDFdownload.pdf (Last accessed January 17, 2024).

4. Alan F Barker. Bronchiectasis. The New England Journal of Medicine 2002.;346:1383-1393. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra012519.

5. Bronchiectasis. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/bronchiectasis (Last accessed January 17, 2024).

6. Bronchiectasis Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Bronchiectasis and NTM 360°. https://www.bronchiectasisandntminitiative.org/Learn-More/I-am-a-Patient-or-Caregiver/Bronchiectasis-FAQs (Last accessed February 23, 2024). 

7. Doreen Addrizzo-Harris, et al. Living Well With Bronchiectasis Patient Information Guide. CHEST Foundation 2017. https://foundation.chestnet.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Bronchiectasis-Living-Well.pdf (Last accessed January 17, 2024).

8. Bronchiectasis in children. British Lung Foundation. https://www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/bronchiectasis-in-children/what-is-it (Last accessed January 17, 2024).

9. Galit Livnat, et al. Non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis: review and recent advances. F1000 Medicine Reports 2009;1:67. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2948306/.

10. Jaafer Saadi Imam, Alexander G Duarte. Non-CF bronchiectasis: Orphan disease no longer. Respiratory Medicine. 2020;166:105940. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0954611120300809

11. Adam T Hill, et al. British Thoracic Society Guideline for Bronchiectasis in Adults. Thorax 2019;74(1):1-69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/thoraxjnl-2018-212463.

12. Bronchiectasis in children. British Lung Foundation. https://www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/bronchiectasis-in-children/what-is-it (Last accessed January 17, 2024).

13.  MP Murray, et al. Sputum colour: a useful clinical tool in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis. European Respiratory Journal 2009;34(2):361-364. https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/34/2/361.

14. How is bronchiectasis diagnosed? British Lung Foundation. https://www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/bronchiectasis/diagnosis (Last accessed January 17, 2024).

15. Severity assessment. EMBARC The European Bronchiectasis Registry. https://www.bronchiectasis.eu/severity-assessment (Last accessed January 17, 2024).

16. Bronchiectasis: Symptoms. National Jewish Health. https://www.nationaljewish.org/conditions/bronchiectasis/bronchiectasis-overview/symptoms (Last accessed January 17, 2024).

17. What is the treatment for bronchiectasis? British Lung Foundation. https://www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/bronchiectasis/treatment (Last accessed January 17, 2024).

18. Annemarie L Lee, et al. Airway-Clearance Techniques in Children and Adolescents with Chronic Suppurative Lung Disease and Bronchiectasis. Frontiers in Pediatrics 2017;5(2):1-8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2017.00002.

19. Eva Polverino, et al. European Respiratory Society guidelines for the management of adult bronchiectasis. European Respiratory Journal 2017;50:1700629. DOI: 10.1183/13993003.00629-2017. https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/50/3/1700629.

20. Bronchiectasis Toolbox. https://bronchiectasis.com.au/bronchiectasis/living-with-bronchiectasis/nutrition (Last accessed January 17, 2024).