| Table of Contents |
|---|
| COPD |
| Emphysema |
| Lung Transplant |
| Lung Reduction Surgery |
| Asthma |
| Lung Cancer |
| Obstructive Sleep Apnea |
| Pulmonary Fibrosis |
| Bronchiectasis |
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs. Symptoms include breathing difficulty, cough, mucus (sputum) production and wheezing. It's typically caused by long-term exposure to irritating gases or particulate matter, most often from cigarette smoke. People with COPD are at increased risk of developing heart disease, lung cancer and a variety of other conditions.
Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the two most common conditions that contribute to COPD. These two conditions usually occur together and can vary in severity among individuals with COPD.
Chronic bronchitis is inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes, which carry air to and from the air sacs (alveoli) of the lungs. It's characterized by daily cough and mucus (sputum) production.
Emphysema is a condition in which the alveoli at the end of the smallest air passages (bronchioles) of the lungs are destroyed as a result of damaging exposure to cigarette smoke and other irritating gases and particulate matter.
Although COPD is a progressive disease that gets worse over time, COPD is treatable. With proper management, most people with COPD can achieve good symptom control and quality of life, as well as reduced risk of other associated conditions.
COPD symptoms often don't appear until significant lung damage has occurred, and they usually worsen over time, particularly if smoking exposure continues.
Signs and symptoms of COPD may include:
• Shortness of breath, especially during physical activities
• Wheezing
• Chest tightness
• A chronic cough that may produce mucus (sputum) that may be clear, white, yellow or greenish
• Frequent respiratory infections
• Lack of energy
• Unintended weight loss (in later stages)
• Swelling in ankles, feet or legs
People with COPD are also likely to experience episodes called exacerbations, during which their symptoms become worse than the usual day-to-day variation and persist for at least several days.
Tests may include:
• Lung (pulmonary) function tests. These tests measure the amount of air you can inhale and exhale, and whether your lungs deliver enough oxygen to your blood. During the most common test, called spirometry, you blow into a large tube connected to a small machine to measure how much air your lungs can hold and how fast you can blow the air out of your lungs. Other tests include measurement of lung volumes and diffusing capacity, six-minute walk test, and pulse oximetry.
• Chest X-ray. A chest X-ray can show emphysema, one of the main causes of COPD. An X-ray can also rule out other lung problems or heart failure.
• CT scan. A CT scan of your lungs can help detect emphysema and help determine if you might benefit from surgery for COPD. CT scans can also be used to screen for lung cancer.
• Arterial blood gas analysis. This blood test measures how well your lungs are bringing oxygen into your blood and removing carbon dioxide.
• Laboratory tests. Lab tests aren't used to diagnose COPD, but they may be used to determine the cause of your symptoms or rule out other conditions. For example, lab tests may be used to determine if you have the genetic disorder alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, which may be the cause of COPD in some people. This test may be done if you have a family history of COPD and develop COPD at a young age.
Emphysema is a lung condition that causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the air sacs in the lungs (alveoli) are damaged. Over time, the inner walls of the air sacs weaken and rupture — creating larger air spaces instead of many small ones. This reduces the surface area of the lungs and, in turn, the amount of oxygen that reaches your bloodstream.
When you exhale, the damaged alveoli don't work properly and old air becomes trapped, leaving no room for fresh, oxygen-rich air to enter.
Most people with emphysema also have chronic bronchitis. Chronic bronchitis is inflammation of the tubes that carry air to your lungs (bronchial tubes), which leads to a persistent cough.
Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are two conditions that make up chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Smoking is the leading cause of COPD. Treatment may slow the progression of COPD, but it can't reverse the damage.
You can have emphysema for many years without noticing any signs or symptoms. The main symptom of emphysema is shortness of breath, which usually begins gradually.
You may start avoiding activities that cause you to be short of breath, so the symptom doesn't become a problem until it starts interfering with daily tasks. Emphysema eventually causes shortness of breath even while you're at rest.
Imaging tests
A chest X-ray can help support a diagnosis of advanced emphysema and rule out other causes of shortness of breath. But the chest X-ray can also show normal findings if you have emphysema.
Computerized tomography (CT) scans combine X-ray images taken from many different directions to create cross-sectional views of internal organs. CT scans can be useful for detecting and diagnosing emphysema. You may also have a CT scan if you're a candidate for lung surgery.
Lab tests
Blood taken from an artery in your wrist can be tested to determine how well your lungs transfer oxygen into, and remove carbon dioxide from, your bloodstream.
Lung function tests
These noninvasive tests measure how much air your lungs can hold and how well the air flows in and out of your lungs. They can also measure how well your lungs deliver oxygen to your bloodstream. One of the most common tests uses a simple instrument called a spirometer, which you blow into.
Emphysema and COPD can't be cured, but treatments can help relieve symptoms and slow the progression of the disease.
Medications
Depending upon the severity of your symptoms, your doctor might suggest:
• Bronchodilators. These drugs can help relieve coughing, shortness of breath and breathing problems by relaxing constricted airways.
• Inhaled steroids. Corticosteroid drugs inhaled as aerosol sprays reduce inflammation and may help relieve shortness of breath.
• Antibiotics. If you have a bacterial infection, like acute bronchitis or pneumonia, antibiotics are appropriate.
Therapy
• Pulmonary rehabilitation. A pulmonary rehabilitation program can teach you breathing exercises and techniques that may help reduce your breathlessness and improve your ability to exercise.
• Nutrition therapy. You'll also receive advice about proper nutrition. In the early stages of emphysema, many people need to lose weight, while people with late-stage emphysema often need to gain weight.
• Supplemental oxygen. If you have severe emphysema with low blood oxygen levels, using oxygen regularly at home and when you exercise may provide some relief. Many people use oxygen 24 hours a day. It's usually administered via narrow tubing that fits into your nostrils.
Surgery
Depending on the severity of your emphysema, your doctor may suggest one or more different types of surgery, including:
• Lung volume reduction surgery. In this procedure, surgeons remove small wedges of damaged lung tissue. Removing the diseased tissue helps the remaining lung tissue expand and work more efficiently and helps improve breathing.
• Lung transplant. Lung transplantation is an option if you have severe lung damage and other options have failed.
A lung transplant is a surgical procedure to replace a diseased or failing lung with a healthy lung, usually from a deceased donor. A lung transplant is reserved for people who have tried medications or other treatments, but their conditions haven't sufficiently improved.
Depending on your medical condition, a lung transplant may involve replacing one of your lungs or both of them. In some situations, the lungs may be transplanted along with a donor heart.
While a lung transplant is a major operation that can involve many complications, it can greatly improve your health and quality of life.
When faced with a decision about having a lung transplant, know what to expect of the lung transplant process, the surgery itself, potential risks and follow-up care.
Unhealthy or damaged lungs can make it difficult for your body to get the oxygen it needs to survive. A variety of diseases and conditions can damage your lungs and keep them from functioning effectively. Some of the more common causes include:
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including emphysema
• Scarring of the lungs (pulmonary fibrosis)
• Cystic fibrosis
• High blood pressure in the lungs (pulmonary hypertension)
Lung damage can often be treated with medication or with special breathing devices. But when these measures no longer help or your lung function becomes life-threatening, your health care provider might suggest a single-lung transplant or a double-lung transplant.
Some people with coronary artery disease may need a procedure to restore blood flow to a blocked or narrowed artery in the heart, in addition to a lung transplant. In some cases, people with serious heart and lung conditions may need a combined heart-lung transplant.
Factors that may affect your eligibility for a lung transplant
A lung transplant isn't the right treatment for everyone. Certain factors may mean you're not a good candidate for a lung transplant. While each case is considered individually by a transplant center, a lung transplant may not be appropriate if you:
• Have an active infection
• Have a recent personal medical history of cancer
• Have serious diseases such as kidney, liver or heart diseases
• Are unwilling or unable to make lifestyle changes necessary to keep your donor lung healthy, such as not drinking alcohol or not smoking
• Do not have a supportive network of family and friends
Lung volume reduction surgery is used to help some people with severe emphysema, a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), breathe easier. It's very important for a multispecialty team of experts to identify and look at people who may benefit from this surgery. Some people may not be good candidates for this procedure.
Using minimally invasive techniques whenever possible, a surgeon removes areas of diseased lung tissue that are not being used by the body. Then the remaining lung tissue can work better. After surgery, people often have less shortness of breath and better quality of life. They also are better able to exercise. Importantly, this therapy may help some people live longer.
During lung volume reduction surgery, a chest surgeon — also known as a thoracic surgeon — removes about 20% to 35% of the diseased lung tissue to allow the rest of the tissue to work better. As a result, the diaphragm — the muscle that separates your chest from your stomach area — tightens and relaxes more effectively and efficiently. This lets you breathe easier.
To determine whether you might benefit from lung volume reduction surgery, your doctor may recommend:
• Imaging and evaluation, including tests of your heart and lung function, exercise tests, and a CT scan of your lungs, to find out where the emphysema is and how bad it is.
• Pulmonary rehabilitation, a program that helps people take care of themselves by improving how well they do physically and emotionally.
Risks of lung volume reduction surgery include:
• Getting pneumonia.
• Forming a blood clot.
• Needing to be on a breathing machine for more than two days.
• Having a lasting air leak. With an air leak, a chest tube drains air from your body. Most air leaks heal within a week.
Risks that are less likely include wound infection, irregular heart rhythm, heart attack and death. For those who had no problem exercising and their emphysema was not in the upper lobes of the lung, lung volume reduction surgery didn't improve function, and survival times were lower.
If damage to your lungs is too severe, lung volume reduction surgery may not be an option. Other treatments such as endobronchial valve therapy may be an option. Endobronchial valves are removable one-way valves that let trapped air escape from the diseased part of the lung. This reduces the size of the diseased lobe. As a result, the air that you breathe is spread to other parts of the lung that are working better. This helps you breathe better and decreases shortness of breath. For cases where lungs are damaged beyond repair, a lung transplant may be considered.
Asthma is a condition in which your airways narrow and swell and may produce extra mucus. This can make breathing difficult and trigger coughing, a whistling sound (wheezing) when you breathe out and shortness of breath.
For some people, asthma is a minor nuisance. For others, it can be a major problem that interferes with daily activities and may lead to a life-threatening asthma attack.
Asthma can't be cured, but its symptoms can be controlled. Because asthma often changes over time, it's important that you work with your doctor to track your signs and symptoms and adjust your treatment as needed.
Asthma symptoms vary from person to person. You may have infrequent asthma attacks, have symptoms only at certain times — such as when exercising — or have symptoms all the time.
Asthma signs and symptoms include:
• Shortness of breath
• Chest tightness or pain
• Wheezing when exhaling, which is a common sign of asthma in children
• Trouble sleeping caused by shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing
• Coughing or wheezing attacks that are worsened by a respiratory virus, such as a cold or the flu
Signs that your asthma is probably worsening include:
• Asthma signs and symptoms that are more frequent and bothersome
• Increasing difficulty breathing, as measured with a device used to check how well your lungs are working (peak flow meter)
• The need to use a quick-relief inhaler more often
For some people, asthma signs and symptoms flare up in certain situations:
• Exercise-induced asthma, which may be worse when the air is cold and dry
• Occupational asthma, triggered by workplace irritants such as chemical fumes, gases or dust
• Allergy-induced asthma, triggered by airborne substances, such as pollen, mold spores, cockroach waste, or particles of skin and dried saliva shed by pets (pet dander)
Tests to measure lung function
You may be given lung function tests to determine how much air moves in and out as you breathe. These tests may include:
• Spirometry. This test estimates the narrowing of your bronchial tubes by checking how much air you can exhale after a deep breath and how fast you can breathe out.
• Peak flow. A peak flow meter is a simple device that measures how hard you can breathe out. Lower than usual peak flow readings are a sign that your lungs may not be working as well and that your asthma may be getting worse. Your doctor will give you instructions on how to track and deal with low peak flow readings.
Lung function tests often are done before and after taking a medication to open your airways called a bronchodilator (brong-koh-DIE-lay-tur), such as albuterol. If your lung function improves with use of a bronchodilator, it's likely you have asthma.
Additional tests
Other tests to diagnose asthma include:
• Methacholine challenge. Methacholine is a known asthma trigger. When inhaled, it will cause your airways to narrow slightly. If you react to the methacholine, you likely have asthma. This test may be used even if your initial lung function test is normal.
• Imaging tests. A chest X-ray can help identify any structural abnormalities or diseases (such as infection) that can cause or aggravate breathing problems.
• Allergy testing. Allergy tests can be performed by a skin test or blood test. They tell you if you're allergic to pets, dust, mold or pollen. If allergy triggers are identified, your doctor may recommend allergy shots.
• Nitric oxide test. This test measures the amount of the gas nitric oxide in your breath. When your airways are inflamed — a sign of asthma — you may have higher than normal nitric oxide levels. This test isn't widely available.
• Sputum eosinophils. This test looks for certain white blood cells (eosinophils) in the mixture of saliva and mucus (sputum) you discharge during coughing. Eosinophils are present when symptoms develop and become visible when stained with a rose-colored dye.
• Provocative testing for exercise and cold-induced asthma. In these tests, your doctor measures your airway obstruction before and after you perform vigorous physical activity or take several breaths of cold air.
How asthma is classified
To classify your asthma severity, your doctor will consider how often you have signs and symptoms and how severe they are. Your doctor will also consider the results of your physical exam and diagnostic tests.
Determining your asthma severity helps your doctor choose the best treatment. Asthma severity often changes over time, requiring treatment adjustments.
Asthma is classified into four general categories:
| Asthma classification | Signs and symptoms |
|---|---|
| Mild intermittent | Mild symptoms up to two days a week and up to two nights a month |
| Mild persistent | Symptoms more than twice a week, but no more than once in a single day |
| Moderate persistent | Symptoms once a day and more than one night a week |
| Severe persistent | Symptoms throughout the day on most days and frequently at night |
Lung cancer is a kind of cancer that starts as a growth of cells in the lungs. The lungs are two spongy organs in the chest that control breathing.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide.
People who smoke have the greatest risk of lung cancer. The risk of lung cancer increases with the length of time and number of cigarettes smoked. Quitting smoking, even after smoking for many years, significantly lowers the chances of developing lung cancer. Lung cancer also can happen in people who have never smoked.
Lung cancer typically doesn't cause symptoms early on. Symptoms of lung cancer usually happen when the disease is advanced.
Signs and symptoms of lung cancer that happen in and around the lungs may include:
• A new cough that doesn't go away.
• Chest pain.
• Coughing up blood, even a small amount.
• Hoarseness.
• Shortness of breath.
• Wheezing.
Signs and symptoms that happen when lung cancer spreads to other parts of the body may include:
• Bone pain.
• Headache.
• Losing weight without trying.
• Loss of appetite.
• Swelling in the face or neck.
Testing healthy people for lung cancer
People with an increased risk of lung cancer may consider yearly lung cancer screening using low-dose CT scans. Lung cancer screening is generally offered to people 50 and older who smoked heavily for many years. Screening also is offered to people who have quit smoking in the past 15 years.
Discuss your lung cancer risk with your healthcare professional. Together you can decide whether lung cancer screening is right for you.
Tests to diagnose lung cancer
If your healthcare professional thinks you may have lung cancer, a number of tests can be used to look for cancerous cells and to rule out other conditions.
Tests may include:
• Imaging tests. Imaging tests make pictures of the body. They can show the location and size of the lung cancer. Tests might include X-ray, MRI, CT and positron emission tomography, which also is called a PET scan.
• Sputum cytology. Sputum is the mucus that is coughed up from the lungs. If you are coughing up sputum, it can be looked at under a microscope. The sputum can sometimes show lung cancer cells.
• Biopsy. A biopsy is a procedure to remove a sample of tissue for testing in a lab.
Your healthcare team can perform a lung cancer biopsy several ways. One way is bronchoscopy. During bronchoscopy, a healthcare professional passes a lighted tube with a camera down your throat into your lungs to examine the area. Special tools can be passed through the tube to collect a sample of tissue.
Mediastinoscopy also is an option. During mediastinoscopy, an incision is made at the base of your neck. Surgical tools are then inserted behind your breastbone to take tissue samples from lymph nodes.
Another option is a needle biopsy. In a needle biopsy, your healthcare professional uses X-ray or CT images to guide a needle through the skin on your chest. The needle goes into the lung tissue to collect cells that could be cancerous.
A biopsy sample also may be taken from lymph nodes or other areas where cancer has spread.
Your cancer cells will be carefully tested in a lab to find out what type of lung cancer you have. The results can help determine the likely outcome of your cancer, called the prognosis, and guide your treatment.
Tests to determine the extent of the cancer
If you're diagnosed with lung cancer, you may have other tests to see if the cancer has spread. These tests help your healthcare team find out the extent of your cancer, also called the stage. Cancer staging tests often involve imaging tests. The tests might look for signs of cancer in your lymph nodes or in other parts of your body. Your healthcare team uses the cancer staging test results to help create your treatment plan.
Imaging tests may include MRI, CT, bone scans and PET scan. Not every test is right for every person. Talk with your healthcare professional about which procedures will work for you.
The stages of lung cancer range from 1 to 4. The lowest number means that the cancer is small and only in the lung. As the cancer grows larger or spreads outside of the lungs, the numbers get higher. A stage 4 lung cancer has spread to other areas of the body.
In small cell lung cancer, the stages may be called limited or extensive. In the limited stage, the cancer affects one lung and the area around it. In the extensive stage, the cancer has spread to the other lung or to other parts of the body.
Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common sleep-related breathing disorder. People with obstructive sleep apnea repeatedly stop and start breathing while they sleep.
There are several types of sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the throat muscles relax and block the airway. This happens off and on many times during sleep. A sign of obstructive sleep apnea is snoring.
Treatments for obstructive sleep apnea are available. One treatment is a device that uses positive pressure to keep the airway open during sleep. Another option is a mouthpiece to thrust the lower jaw forward during sleep. In some people, surgery might be an option too.
Symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea include:
• Excessive daytime sleepiness.
• Loud snoring.
• Observed episodes of stopped breathing during sleep.
• Waking during the night and gasping or choking.
• Awakening in the morning with a dry mouth or sore throat.
• Morning headaches.
• Trouble focusing during the day.
• Mood changes, such as depression or being easily upset.
• High blood pressure.
• Decreased interest in sex.
A member of your health care team evaluates your condition based on your symptoms, an exam, and tests. You may be referred to a sleep specialist for further evaluation.
The physical exam involves an examination of the back of your throat, mouth and nose. Your neck and waist circumference may be measured. Your blood pressure also may be checked.
A sleep specialist can further evaluate you. The specialist can diagnose and determine the extent of your condition. The specialist also can plan your treatment. The evaluation might involve staying at a sleep center overnight. At the sleep center, your breathing and other body functions are monitored as you sleep.
Tests
Tests to detect obstructive sleep apnea include:
• Polysomnography. During this sleep study, you're hooked up to equipment that monitors your heart, lung and brain activity and breathing patterns while you sleep. The equipment also measures arm and leg movements and blood oxygen levels.
You might be monitored all night or part of the night. If you're monitored for part of the night, it's called a split-night sleep study.
In a split-night sleep study, you'll be monitored during the first half of the night. If you're diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, staff members may wake you and give you continuous positive airway pressure for the second half of the night
The sleep study also can help look for other sleep disorders that can cause excessive daytime sleepiness but have different treatments. The sleep study can uncover leg movements during sleep, known as periodic limb movement disorder. Or the study can help evaluate people who have sudden bouts of sleep during the day, known as narcolepsy.
• Home sleep apnea testing. Under certain circumstances, you may have an at-home version of polysomnography to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea. Home sleep apnea testing kits monitor a limited number of variables to detect breathing pauses during sleep.
Pulmonary fibrosis is a lung disease that occurs when lung tissue becomes damaged and scarred. This thickened, stiff tissue makes it harder for the lungs to work properly. Pulmonary fibrosis worsens over time. Some people can stay stable for a long time, but the condition gets worse faster in others. As it gets worse, people become more and more short of breath.
The scarring that happens in pulmonary fibrosis can be caused by many things. Often, doctors and other healthcare professionals cannot pinpoint what's causing the problem. When a cause cannot be found, the condition is called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis usually occurs in middle-aged and older adults. Sometimes pulmonary fibrosis is diagnosed in children and infants, but this is not common.
The lung damage caused by pulmonary fibrosis cannot be repaired. Medicines and therapies can sometimes help slow down the rate of fibrosis, ease symptoms and improve quality of life. For some people, a lung transplant might be an option.
Symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis may include:
• Shortness of breath.
• Dry cough.
• Extreme tiredness.
• Weight loss that's not intended.
• Aching muscles and joints.
• Widening and rounding of the tips of the fingers or toes, called clubbing.
How fast pulmonary fibrosis worsens over time and how severe the symptoms are can vary greatly from person to person. Some people become ill very quickly with severe disease. Others have moderate symptoms that worsen more slowly, over months or years.
When symptoms suddenly get worse
In people with pulmonary fibrosis, especially idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, shortness of breath can suddenly get worse over a few weeks or days. This is called an acute exacerbation. It can be life-threatening. The cause of an acute exacerbation may be another condition or an illness, such as a lung infection. But usually the cause is not known.
To diagnose pulmonary fibrosis, your doctor or other healthcare professional reviews your medical and family history and does a physical exam. You can talk about your symptoms and review any medicines you take. You also will likely be asked about any continuous or repeated contact with dusts, gases, chemicals or similar substances, especially through work.
During the physical exam, your healthcare professional listens carefully to your lungs while you breathe. Pulmonary fibrosis often occurs along with a crackling sound at the base of the lungs.
You may have one or more of these tests.
Imaging tests
• Chest X-ray. Images of the chest may show the scar tissue that is usually part of pulmonary fibrosis. Sometimes the chest X-ray may not show any changes. More tests may be needed to find out why you are short of breath.
• Computerized tomography (CT) scan. A CT scan combines X-ray images taken from many different angles to create images of structures inside the body. A high-resolution CT scan can be helpful in diagnosing pulmonary fibrosis and in finding out how much lung damage has occurred. Some kinds of fibrosis have certain patterns.
• Echocardiogram. An echocardiogram uses sound waves to look at the heart. The test can create pictures of the heart's structures. It also can create videos that show how the heart is working. This test can tell the amount of pressure in the arteries of the lungs and in the right side of the heart.
Lung function tests
Also called pulmonary function tests, these are done to find out how well your lungs are working:
• Spirometry. In this test, you breathe out quickly and forcefully through a tube connected to a machine. The machine measures how much air the lungs can hold and how quickly air moves in and out of the lungs.
• Lung volume test. This test measures the amount of air the lungs hold at different times when breathing in and out.
• Lung diffusion test. This test shows how well the body moves oxygen and carbon dioxide between the lungs and the blood.
• Pulse oximetry. This simple test uses a small device placed on one of the fingers to measure how much oxygen is in the blood. The percentage of oxygen in the blood is called oxygen saturation. Your healthcare professional may recommend a six-minute walking test with a check of your oxygen saturation.
• Exercise stress test. An exercise test on a treadmill or stationary bike may be used to monitor heart and lung function during activity.
• Arterial blood gas test. In this test, a sample of blood, usually taken from an artery in the wrist, is tested. The oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the sample are measured.
In addition to showing whether you have pulmonary fibrosis, imaging and lung function tests can be used to check your condition over time and see how treatments are working.
Tissue sample
If other tests cannot find the cause of your condition, a small amount of lung tissue may need to be removed. This is called a biopsy. The biopsy sample is then examined in a laboratory to diagnose pulmonary fibrosis or rule out other conditions. One of these methods can be used to get a tissue sample:
• Surgical biopsy. Although a surgical biopsy is invasive and has potential complications, it may be the only way to make the right diagnosis. This procedure may be done as a minimally invasive surgery called video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). The biopsy also may be done as an open surgery called a thoracotomy.
During VATS, a surgeon inserts surgical instruments and a small camera through two or three small cuts between the ribs. The surgeon looks at the lungs on a video monitor while removing tissue samples from the lungs. During the surgery, a combination of medicines put you in a sleep-like state called general anesthesia.
During a thoracotomy, a surgeon removes a lung tissue sample through a cut that opens the chest between the ribs. This open surgery also is done using general anesthesia.
• Bronchoscopy. In this procedure, very small tissue samples are removed — usually no larger than the head of a pin. A small, flexible tube called a bronchoscope is passed through the mouth or nose into the lungs to remove the samples. The tissue samples are sometimes too small to make the right diagnosis. But this form of biopsy also may be used to rule out other conditions.
Blood tests
You may have blood tests to look at your liver and kidney function. Blood tests also can check for and rule out other conditions.
Bronchiectasis is a long-term condition where the airways in your lungs (bronchi) become widened, leading to a build-up of excess mucus. This makes your lungs more vulnerable to infection and inflammation.
Here's a simple overview to help you understand it better:
What Happens in Bronchiectasis?
• Airway Damage: The airways become damaged, usually from an infection or other lung conditions, causing them to widen and lose their ability to clear mucus.
• Mucus Build-Up: The widened airways can't clear mucus properly, so it builds up.
• Infections: The excess mucus can trap bacteria, leading to repeated lung infections.
Symptoms
• Chronic Cough: A persistent cough that brings up mucus (phlegm).
• Frequent Infections: Regular lung infections that may require antibiotics.
• Breathlessness: Feeling short of breath, especially during physical activity.
• Chest Pain: Pain or discomfort in the chest.
• Fatigue: Feeling tired and lacking energy.
Causes
• Infections: Severe lung infections like pneumonia, whooping cough, or tuberculosis.
• Underlying Conditions: Conditions like cystic fibrosis, immune system disorders, or autoimmune diseases.
• Genetic Factors: Genetic conditions that affect the lungs.
Diagnosis
• Chest X-Ray/CT Scan: Imaging tests to look at the structure of your lungs.
• Sputum Test: Analyzing the mucus you cough up for bacteria or fungi.
• Lung Function Tests: Tests to measure how well your lungs are working.
Treatment
• Airway Clearance Techniques: Methods to help clear mucus from your lungs, like chest physiotherapy or using devices that help you breathe deeply.
• Medications: Antibiotics to treat infections, bronchodilators to open airways, and mucus-thinning agents.
• Vaccinations: To prevent lung infections like flu and pneumonia.
• Lifestyle Changes: Staying hydrated, regular exercise, and avoiding smoke or pollutants.
Living with Brochiectasis
• Regular Check-Ups: Regular visits to your healthcare provider to monitor your condition.
• Healthy Lifestyle: Eating a balanced diet, exercising, and avoiding smoking.
• Managing Infections: Promptly treating infections and following your treatment plan.
When to Seek Help
• Worsening Symptoms: If your symptoms get worse or you develop new ones.
• Frequent Infections: If you have frequent lung infections.
• Difficulty Breathing: If you experience severe breathlessness.
Conclusion
While bronchiectasis is a chronic condition, with proper management and treatment, many people live active and fulfilling lives. If you or someone you know has bronchiectasis, working closely with healthcare providers and following a tailored treatment plan can make a significant difference in managing the condition.