Use of Antibiotics in Bronchiectasis

Paul      T. King; Peter      W. Holmes

Abstract

Bronchiectasis is defined by the presence of abnormal bronchial widening and occurs as a consequence of chronic airway infection. It is an important and common cause of respiratory disease. Antibiotics are the main therapy used for the treatment of this condition. The article will review the use of antibiotics for the treatment of bronchiectasis. Antibiotics can be given as short-term therapy for exacerbations or as long-term/maintenance therapy. Antibiotics given by the inhalational route and macrolides are two relatively new classes of medication that may be useful for long-term therapy. There are significant concerns about the overuse resulting in antibiotic resistance. It should be emphasized that nearly all of the trials in the literature have only had small numbers of subjects. The data that is available describing the use of antibiotics in bronchiectasis can generally be regarded as preliminary.

Keywords: Bronchiectasis, Lung, Inhalational, Macrolide, Antibiotic Resistance, co-existent disease, cystic fibrosis, gentamicin, haemoptysis, debility