Learn About Bronchiectasis

Key Facts

• Bronchiectasis is a chronic condition where the lung’s airways become permanently damaged and widened. Early diagnosis and treatment can help you have the best possible quality of life.
• Bronchiectasis affects 350,000 to 500,000 adults in the United States. The risk of developing bronchiectasis increases with age.
• Bronchiectasis is more common in women than in men.

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How Bronchiectasis Affects Your Body

Each time you breathe, air travels within your lungs through airways called bronchi. When you have bronchiectasis your airway walls become permanently thickened, widened and damaged. As the damage progresses, the airways lose their ability to effectively clear mucus, a normal secretion that lines your airways and lungs, so mucus builds up and creates an environment where bacteria and germs can grow, leading to repeated infections and ongoing inflammation. This cycle of inflammation and infection can cause further lung damage over time. Bronchiectasis may affect only a small area of the lungs or be more widespread. In general, the more extensive the damage, the more serious the disease.

What Causes Bronchiectasis?

In some people with bronchiectasis, the exact cause is unknown. However, bronchiectasis often develops after damage to the airways caused by another condition, infection or airway blockage,  like a growth or a noncancerous tumor. Although it is commonly associated with cystic fibrosis, many other conditions can increase the risk of developing bronchiectasis including:

• Autoimmune disorders
• Mycobacterial infections, like MAC infections
• Conditions that weaken your immune system, like common variable immunodeficiency (CVID), HIV or receiving an organ transplant
• Pulmonary disorders such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma
• Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency
• Fibrosis (scarring) from radiation
• Diseases that affect the cilia, the small, hair-like structures that line your airways and whose main function is to clear mucus
• Inflammatory disorders like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
• Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis which is a type of allergic lung inflammation of the airways
• Chronic pulmonary aspiration, problems with swallowing that cause food or fluids to get into the lungs and leads to inflamed airways

Recurring infections that can cause damage to the airway walls include:

• Pneumonia
• Pertussis (Whooping cough)
• Tuberculosis
• Certain fungal infections