| REVIEW ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2006 | Volume
: 1
| Issue : 1 | Page : 41-51 |
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Pathogenesis, etiology and treatment of bronchiectasis
Nehad AL-Shirawi1, Hamdan H AL-Jahdali2, Abdullah Al Shimemeri2
1 Critical Care Department, Department King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, King Fahad National Guard Hospital, (KAMC-KFNGH), Saudi Arabia
2 Department of Medicine, King Abdul-Aziz Medical City and College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdul-Aziz University for Health Science, Saudi Arabia
Correspondence Address:
Hamdan H AL-Jahdali
Department of Medicine, King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, Mail Code 1443, King Fahad National Guard Hospital, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh - 11426
Saudi Arabia
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DOI: 10.4103/1817-1737.25870 
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Bronchiectasis is a chronic lung disease, defined pathologically as irreversible dilatation of the bronchi. The clinical course of the disease is chronic and progressive and in most cases, causes lung damage over many years. There is usually an initial event, which causes impairment of mucociliary clearance of the bronchial tree. The respiratory tract becomes colonized by bacteria that inhibit the ciliary function and promote further lung damage. The hallmark of bronchiectasis, is a chronic cough with mucopurulent or purulent sputum, lasting for months to years and may progress to chronic respiratory failure. Diagnosis of bronchiectasis is suspected on the basis of clinical manifestations. In order to confirm the diagnosis and underlying causes, appropriate investigations must be performed. In this comprehensive review, we discuss the etiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, appropriate investigations and management of bronchiectasis. |
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