Pathology, Epidemiology & Aetiology of Bronchiectasis

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Bronchiectasis is a chronic disease of the lungs where the airways of the lungs become abnormally widened, leading to a build-up of excess mucus that can make the lungs more vulnerable to infection (Nhs.uk.2014). The extent of the disease can vary greatly- may be one section of an airway that is widened and abnormal or many airways- usually somewhere between these extremes. Widened parts of the airways are damaged and inflamed, which causes excess mucus to form which is less easily cleared. Furthermore, these parts of the airways are weaker and more liable to collapse inwards which may affect airflow through the affected airways- severity depends on how many of the airways are affected (Patient.co.uk. 2014). Patients with bronchiectasis have chronic cough and excess sputum production, and infections due to bacteria develop in them- this results in the loss of lung function (O’Donnell 2008).

About one in a thousand people in the UK have bronchiectasis (Patient.co.uk. 2014). Recent statistical analysis has shown that the mortality rate of Bronchiectasis in England and Wales is increasing at 3% per year and just under a thousand people die from it each year (Roberts and Hubbard, 2010). Where the number of deaths are increasing in older groups and decreasing in younger groups. Figure 1 (WHO Regional Office for Europe. 2013) illustrates the concern of Bronchiectasis in European countries, especially the UK.

Bronchiectasis is now being recognized with increasing frequency around the world. These mortality rates may underestimate the burden of disease as lack of knowledge about the disease may lead to underreporting. These data are mortality rates and not incidence data; hence Bronchiectasis remains a significant concern where ...

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...m. Respirology, 8 (2), pp. 181-5.

Shoemark, A., Ozerovitch, L. and Wilson, R.

Shoemark, A., Ozerovitch, L. and Wilson, R. 2007. Aetiology in adult patients with bronchiectasis. Epub, 101 (6), pp. 1163-70.

Subotic, D. and Lardinois, D.

Subotic, D. and Lardinois, D. 2013. Chapter 9. Surgical treatment of bronchiectasis. European Respiratory Society Monograph, 61 pp. 90-106.

Textbookofbacteriology.net.

Textbookofbacteriology.net. 2013. Bacterial Resistance to Antibiotics. [online] Available at: http://textbookofbacteriology.net/themicrobialworld/bactresanti.html [Accessed: 31 Dec 2013].

WHO Regional Office for Europe.

WHO Regional Office for Europe. 2014. European hospital morbidity database

Who.int.

Who.int. 2014. WHO | Antimicrobial resistance. [online] Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs194/en/ [Accessed: 01 Jan 2014].

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