Is bronchiectasis serious?

The problem of bronchiectasis is indeed quite serious, but because it is a chronic inflammation, many people do not pay attention to it. However, if it recurs and is severe, it may even be life-threatening and may cause symptoms of weight loss and anemia in patients.

1. Cause of disease: Bronchiectasis is a common chronic bronchial suppurative disease. Due to chronic inflammation, the tube wall is destroyed, eventually leading to dilation and deformation of the bronchial lumen. The disease is more common in children and adolescents, and more common in males than in females. Bronchiectasis may be caused by measles, whooping cough, post-influenza pneumonia or multiple pneumonia episodes, destruction of fibrotic lesions of tuberculosis or weakening of the elasticity of the bronchial walls, and congenital bronchiectasis is very rare.

2. Symptoms: Chronic cough accompanied by large amounts of purulent sputum. The amount of sputum is related to changes in body position. For example, the amount of sputum increases when coughing in the morning or lying in bed at night. During acute attacks of respiratory tract infections, the amount of yellow-green purulent sputum increases significantly, reaching several hundred milliliters a day. If there is a mixed infection with anaerobic bacteria, it will have a foul odor. The sputum was collected in a glass bottle and separated into four layers: the upper layer was foam, the lower layer contained suspended purulent components, the middle layer contained turbid mucus, and the bottom layer contained necrotic tissue.

3. Hemoptysis may occur repeatedly with varying degrees, ranging from a small amount of blood in sputum to a large amount of hemoptysis. The amount of hemoptysis is sometimes inconsistent with the severity of the disease. Some patients only have repeated hemoptysis and usually do not have respiratory symptoms such as cough and sputum, which is clinically called "dry bronchiectasis". Their bronchiectasis is often located in areas with good drainage and is less susceptible to infection.

4. Symptoms of infection include fever, shortness of breath, cyanosis, night sweats, loss of appetite, weight loss, anemia, etc.

5. In mild cases, the physical signs are not obvious. Sometimes fixed and persistent moist rales can be heard at the site of the lesion, which can be reduced or temporarily disappear after expectoration. Severe cases may have signs of emphysema and clubbing of fingers (toes) due to long-term and repeated infections, and moist rales in both lower lungs.

6. Actively preventing and treating respiratory tract infections is of great significance in preventing the occurrence of bronchiectasis. People who have already suffered from bronchiectasis should exercise, work hard to strengthen their physical fitness, adhere to body posture for expectoration, quit smoking, reduce dust inhalation, prevent colds, and other measures to prevent the development of bronchiectasis.