Until recent years, bronchiectasis has been considered a rare and neglected condition. As such, the quality of care patients with bronchiectasis receive has historically been suboptimal – made worse by a lack of international guidelines on how to treat and manage bronchiectasis.

In 2017, EMBARC, in collaboration with the European Respiratory Society (ERS) and European Lung Foundation Patient Advisory Group, developed a set of international guidelines for the treatment of bronchiectasis. The guidelines contain evidence-based recommendations based on the available literature with the aim of improving the clinical management of bronchiectasis. 

The guidelines made recommendations including, but not limited to:

• Routine testing for immunoglobulins and ABPA for all new cases of bronchiectasis
• Regular sputum culture when clinically stable
• Attempt to eradicate Pseudomonas aeruginosa at first isolation
• Prescription of long term antibiotic treatment if an individual with bronchiectasis is experiencing 3 or more exacerbations per year
• Prescription of bronchodilator treatment if an individual with bronchiectasis is experiencing significant breathlessness
• Recommendations for / access to regular airway clearance therapy
• Recommendation of pulmonary rehabilitation for all patients with significant breathlessness.

Since their publication, the ERS Treatment Guidelines for Bronchiectasis have set an international standard for the quality of care individuals with bronchiectasis should receive. 

The ‘ERS Guidelines for the Management of Adult Bronchiectasis’ is available to view online (see below):