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Bronchiectasis - Management
Who should be followed-up in secondary care?
- Regular follow up in secondary care is recommended for:
- All children.
- Adults with bronchiectasis, with:
- Chronic colonization with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, opportunist mycobacteria, or meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
- Clinical deterioration with declining lung function.
- Three or more infective exacerbations a year.
- Requirement for long-term prophylactic antibiotics.
- Co-existing rheumatoid arthritis, immune deficiency, inflammatory bowel disease, primary ciliary dyskinesia, or allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis.
- Advanced disease — including those people who are being considered for transplantation.
- Secondary care follow up for adults with less severe disease is at the discretion of the specialist.
- Follow up is likely to be exclusively in primary care if the disease is stable, with minimal exercise limitation and few exacerbations.
- Follow up is usually shared between primary care and secondary care for people with intermediate disease severity.
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