• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.811-828
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• 2021

Following the introduction of a novel pathological concept of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) by Liebow and Carrington in 1969, diffuse interstitial pneumonia has evolved into UIP, nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP), and interstitial lung abnormality (ILA); the histopathological and CT findings of these conditions reflect the required multidisciplinary team approach, involving pulmonologists, radiologists, and pathologists, for their diagnosis and management. Concomitantly, traction bronchiectasis and bronchiolectasis have been recognized as the most persistent and important indices of the severity and prognosis of fibrotic lung diseases. The traction bronchiectasis index (TBI) can stratify the prognoses of patients with ILAs. In this review, the evolutionary concepts of UIP, NSIP, and ILAs are summarized in tables and figures, with a demonstration of the correlation between CT findings and pathologic evaluation. The CT-based UIP score is being proposed to facilitate a better understanding of the spectrum of pulmonary fibrosis, from ILAs to UIP, with emphasis on traction bronchiectasis/bronchiolectasis.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.489-499
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• 1999

Background: The patient with bronchiectasis may have obstructive ventilatory impairment combined with mild restrictive ventilatory impairment due to fibrosis of surrounding lung parenchyme and pleural adhesions caused by chronic recurrent pulmonary infections. Since hyperinflation or emphysematous change can be occured in bronchiectasis, pulmonary functions such as lung volumes and diffusing capacity may also vary with associated emphysema. Methods: For the evaluation of lung volumes and diffusing capacity in bronchiectasis with respect to the anatomic types and severity of bronchiectasis, a total of 40 cases comprising 24 cases of tubular, and 16 cystic type of bronchiectasis were analyzed retrospectively. Correlation between lung functions and extent of bronchiectasis or associated emphysema detected in HRCT were also evaluated. Results: Vital capacity(VC) tended to decrease in cystic type than in tubular type. As the severity of bronchiectasis became serious, the VC were significantly reduced, whereas the total lung capacity(TLC), residual volume(RV) and its ratio to the total lung capacity(RV/TLC) had no significant difference. Lung clearance index(LCI) was significantly increased in cystic type than in tubular type, whereas the slope of phase III in single breath nitrogen curve($\triangle$N2/L) was not significantly changed regard to the type and severity of bronchiectasis. DLCO and DLCO/VA reflecting diffusing capacity were significantly decreased in cystic type and also as the severity of bronchiectasis became serious. The correlation coefficient of VC, DLCO and LCI with the extent of bronchiectasis were -0.322, -0.339 and 0.487, respectively, whereas other parameters were not significantly correlated with the extent of bronchiectasis. VC and DLCO correlated negatively with the extent of emphysema while RV, RV/TLC, LCI and $\triangle$N2/L correlated positively. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the reduction of VC and diffusing capacity or uneven distribution of inspired gas in bronchiectasis are related to both the extent of bronchiectasis and associated emphysema while increased residual volume be related to the extent of associated emphysema alone.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.456-464
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• 1984

Since the advent of potent chemotherapy, the incidence and severity of bronchiectasis have been on the decrease. Up to date, however, the medical treatment of bronchiectasis has not given us much satisfaction. Our purpose here is to show our experiences with pulmonary resections of bronchiectasis to clarify its surgical results and define its surgical indications. Sixty-five patients with bronchiectasis, treated surgically from January 1973 to December, 1982 at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Kyungpook National University Hospital, were given clinical assessment. Of the 65 patients involved in the series, 49 were male and 16, female. The patients ranged from 8 to 51 in ages, with 59 cases [91%] between 10 and 39 years old. The prominent clinical features were as follows: cough [88%], sputum production [78%], recurrent upper respiratory infection [51%], and frequent hemoptysis [32%]. The past history of the patients included measles 29%, whooping cough 14%, pulmonary tuberculosis 12%, and pneumonia or bronchitis 12%. The cylindrical type of the bronchiectasis was found to be most common, accounting for 43% of the cases. The operations were performed on the left lung in 52 cases and the right lung in 13 cases. The most common operative procedure was the left lower lobectomy and lingular segmentectomy, which showed 34%. The second most frequent procedure was the simple left lower lobectomy which was 22%. Incomplete resections of the multisegmental bronchiectasis were carried out in 12 cases, of which 7 cases were satisfactory Four patients underwent bilateral pulmonary resections for the severe multisegmental bilateral bronchiectases, during the first and second operations. Improvement in pulmonary symptoms was generally obtained in all four cases. The follow-up ranged from 1 week to 7 tears, with an average of 18.8 months. The overall results revealed that 87% of these and excellent or good conditions, but 13% had persistent symptoms. There was one operative death, which is a 1.5% mortality.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.85 no.1
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• pp.67-73
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• 2022

Background: Bronchiectasis patients with neutrophilic airway inflammation develop symptoms of chronic cough, sputum production, and recurrent exacerbations. Roflumilast has anti-inflammatory actions via decreased neutrophilic airway inflammation. The effectiveness of roflumilast to reduce bronchiectasis exacerbation has never been evaluated. Methods: We conducted a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Our primary objective was to assess the effect of roflumilast compared with that of a placebo in reducing exacerbation rates in bronchiectasis patients. The secondary objectives were the changes in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁) and St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). Bronchiectasis patients older than 18 years who had had two exacerbations during the previous 12 months were randomly assigned to receive either 500 ㎍ of either roflumilast or a placebo once daily for 6 months in a 1:1 ratio. Results: Forty bronchiectasis patients who had experienced exacerbations were screened. Thirty patients completed the study after 6 months of treatment: roflumilast group (n=15) and placebo group (n=15). The rates of exacerbations were 0.57 and 0.59 per patient in the roflumilast and placebo groups, respectively. Prebronchodilator FEV₁ increased by 0.07 L from baseline in the roflumilast group and decreased by 0.015 L in the placebo group, but the difference was not significant. No significant differences were observed in the change of SGRQ scores between the roflumilast and placebo groups. Roflumilast had significant side effects, including loss of appetite and headache. Conclusion: Roflumilast did not significantly affect the rate of exacerbations or quality of life. However, FEV₁ tended to improve more in the roflumilast group than in the placebo group.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.548-557
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• 1993

Background: Bronchiectasis is a irreversible disease, a lot of cases of which are associated with chronic bronchitis, pulmonary emphysema and bronchial asthma due to chronic recurrent pulmonary infection. Therefore, pulmonary functions in bronchiectasis may also vary with associated diseases or involved segments. Methods: For the evaluation of ventilatory dynamics in bronchiectasis with respect to the pathoanatomic types of bronchiectasis and the degree of dyspnea, a total of 93 cases comprising 45 cases of tubular, 30 saccular and 18 mixed type of bronchiectasis whose clinical diagnosis was confirmed by bronchography were analyzed retrospectively. They were also divided into two groups: those with Hugh-Jones dyspnea grade 1 & 2 (group I) and those with Hugh-Jones dyspnea grade 3 & 4 (group II). Pulmonary functions tested in this study were analyses of curves of forced expiratory volume and flow-volume, and determinations of maximal voluntary ventilation and closing volumes. Results: The results were as follows; 1) The vital capacity and parameters reflecting expiratory flow rate except PEF were significantly reduced in saccular and mixed type than that in tubular type of bronchiectasis. 2) In saccular and mixed type, the maximal voluntary ventilation tended to decrease while CV/VC tended to increase. 3) As the degree of dyspnea became serious, the involved segments were progressively increased. In contrast, ventilatory functions were significantly reduced in proportion to the severity of dyspnea. Conclusion: These findings suggest that in bronchiectasis, there be obstructive ventilatory impairment combined with mild restrictive ventilatory impairment, which becomes more prominent in saccular and mixed type and also as the degree of dyspnea progresses.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1007-1013
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• 1995

We managed 80 patients of bronchiectasis from Jan.1983 to Dec.1992 admitted to the department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Pusan National University Hospital. We evaluated clinically these patients and summarized as follows. Alpha-hemolytic streptococcus was the most commonly found bacterial strain in microbial study. For the conservative treatment, first generation cefalosporins, aminoglycosides and ampicillin were used as antibiotic therapy in this order of frequency. The preoperative final diagnosis was made by bronchography and HRCT. In the image study saccular type bronchiectasis was 47.1%, cylindrical 27.5%, mixed 17.6% and varicose 7.8%. Anatomically left side involvement was more frequent than the right as 61.2% to 38.8% and the most commonly invading lobar area was left lower. Reversibility after conservative treatment for all the types of bronchiectasis was 66%. Surgical treatment were done in 50 cases, among these left lower lobectomy was 38.0%, left lower lobectomy with ligular segmentectomy 22.0%, right middle and lower bilobectomy 16.0%, right lower lobectomy 10.0%, left pneumonectomy 10.0%, right pneumonectomy 4.0%. In 10 cases, there remained some lesion in the other sites of lung parenchyme after first attempt surgical resection because the distribution of lesion is too broad to resect out in single thoracotomy hoping improvement by medical management.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.7
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• pp.770-773
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• 2010

A 13-year-old girl was diagnosed with non-cystic fibrosis (CF)-related multifocal bronchiectasis accompanied by nephrotic-range proteinuria of unknown cause. On renal biopsy, there were many segmental homogeneous deposits of amyloid tissue with positive Congo red staining in the glomeruli and interstitium. On electron microscopy, relatively straight, non-branching, randomly arranged amyloid fibrils were showed in the mesangium of the glomeruli. These fibrils were approximately 10 nm in diameter, compatible with secondary amyloidosis. Her level of serum amyloid A was remarkably elevated. To our knowledge, this girl is the first case of secondary renal amyloidosis induced by bronchiectasis in Korean children.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.294-297
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• 1993

This study based on the clinical analysis of 42 cases of bronchiectasis treated by surgical resection at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Chosun University Hospital, during 6 years period from 1986 to 1991. The 42 patients with bronchiectasis were composed of 33 males and 9 females, and the peak incidence of age was in the 3rd decade. The clinical symptoms were cough, purulent sputum, hemoptysis and dyspnea. Based on the morphological classification by bronchograpgy, the common type was present in 19 cases[45%] of cylindrical type. The frequently involved site was left lower lobe, and so left lower lobectomy was the most frequently performed method of surgical resection. Postoperative complications were occurred in 8 cases[18%], such as wound infection, atelectasis, pleural effusion, hemothorax, but there were no fatal cases.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.287-302
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• 2024

Background: Bronchiectasis is a chronic respiratory condition leading to recurrent respiratory infections. Despite the use of antibiotics and other standard treatments, managing bronchiectasis remains challenging due to the frequent recurrence of airway infections and concerns about antimicrobial resistance. Given these challenges, traditional Korean medicine (TKM) has gained attention due to its potential to reduce the frequency of respiratory infections, possibly minimizing the need for antibiotics. Case report: A 59-year-old female with bronchiectasis experienced recurrent pneumonia and was treated with antibiotics for over 2 weeks without any significant improvement in clinical symptoms. She received comprehensive Korean medicine treatment, including herbal medicine (Sikyungbanha-tang combined with Bigwabojungikki-tang-gami), acupuncture, and Chuna manual therapy, for pulmonary rehabilitation. Post-treatment, clinically meaningful improvements were observed in symptoms, serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, and bronchopneumonic lesions on chest X-rays. Conclusion: This case suggests that complex traditional Korean medicine treatments for recurrent chronic airway inflammation due to bronchiectasis can lead to clinically significant improvements in symptoms and help to prevent recurrence.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.72 no.6
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• pp.467-474
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• 2012

Background: The objective of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Korean version of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease assessment test (CAT) and Dyspnea-12 Questionnaire for patients with bronchiectasis or tuberculous destroyed lung. Methods: For 62 bronchiectasis patients and 37 tuberculous destroyed lung patients, 3 questionnaires including St. George's Respiratory Questionnaires (SGRQ), CAT, and Dyspnea-12 were obtained, in addition to spirometric measurements. To assess the validity of CAT and Dyspnea-12, correlation with SGRQ was evaluated. To assess the reliability of CAT and Dyspnea-12, Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ coefficient was calculated. Results: The mean ages of the patients were $60.7{\pm}8.3$ years in bronchiectasis and $64.4{\pm}9.3$ years in tuberculous destroyed lung. 46.8% and 54.1% were male, respectively. The SGRQ score was correlated with the score of the Korean version of CAT (r=0.72, p<0.0001) and Dyspnea-12 (r=0.67, p<0.0001) in bronchiectasis patients. The SGRQ score was correlated with the score of CAT (r=0.86, p<0.0001) and Dyspnea-12 (r=0.80, p<0.0001) in tuberculous destroyed lung patients. The Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ coefficient for the CAT and Dyspnea-12 were 0.84 and 0.90 in bronchiectasis, and 0.88 and 0.94 in tuberculous destroyed lung, respectively. Conclusion: We found that Korean version of CAT and Dyspnea-12 are valid and reliable in patients with tuberculous destroyed lung and bronchiectasis.