Primary care summary of the British Thoracic Society Guideline on the management of non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis

The British Thoracic Society (BTS) has recently published a guideline for the management of non-cystic fibrosis (non-CF) bronchiectasis in children and adults. This paper summarises the key recommendations applicable to the primary care setting. The key points are: Think of the diagnosis of bronchiectasis in adults and children who present with a chronic productive cough or unexplained haemoptysis, and in children with asthma which responds poorly to treatment High resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scanning is needed to confirm the diagnosis Sputum culture should be obtained at the start of an exacerbation prior to initiating treatment with antibiotics. Treatment should be started whilst awaiting the sputum result and should be continued for 14 days Patients with bronchiectasis have significant morbidity. Management in primary care is aimed at improving morbidity, and includes patient education, treatment and monitoring, as well as appropriate referral to secondary care including assessment for long term antibiotics. (C) 2011 Primary Care Respiratory Society UK. All rights reserved. AT Hill etal. Prim Care Respir J 2011; 20(2): 135-140 doi:10.4104/perj.2011.00007