THE FATE OF PATIENTS WITH UNTREATED BRONCHIECTASIS

Abstract

It is commonly assumed, in the absence of any real proof, that patients with a chronic productive cough and sputum that is free from tubercle bacilli are not seriously ill. Such patients are considered as having "chronic bronchitis," and often no real attempt is made to do much for them either diagnostically or in instituting therapeutic measures. These patients may be able to carry on routine activities throughout a greater part of the year but frequently are incapacitated for a longer or shorter period each winter. They have many episodes of acute infections of the respiratory tract usually diagnosed as pneumonia, pneumonitis or pleurisy. It usually is the acute phase of the disease that has concerned the physician. It is our purpose in this paper to present a follow-up study on 242 cases of bronchiectasis. With the increasing use of surgical measures in the treatment of bronchiectasis, it is important