Bronchiectasis & Pulmonary Nontuberculous Mycobacterium

Bronchiectasis is diagnosed when the small airways in the lung are enlarged. This can be due to many causes which will be evaluated by your doctor, but sometimes cannot be identified. When the enlargement occurs, it is difficult for the lungs to clear naturally producing mucus. As a result, mucus will accumulate and can get impacted over time. Bacteria can accumulate in these sites and cause recurrent infections. The central component of therapy is airway clearance and recurrent evaluation of potential bacteria in the lung.

Nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) are environmental bacteria. Only a small fraction of NTM that have been identified cause human diseases, most often pulmonary disease. Even more, not all people with a diagnosis of NTM pulmonary disease need to be treated. This decision is based on symptoms, findings on imaging, the type of organism, and most importantly, the individual’s preference after informed discussion. Treatment regimens include airway clearance and multiple antibiotics over an extended period (greater than one year).

Please submit new referrals attention to INTEGRATE clinic for bronchiectasis and pulmonary nontuberculous evaluation. Feel free to contact our clinic for any questions at (415) 353-2961. 

To provide a thorough evaluation and initial consultation, we require a chest CT within the last 6 months, pulmonary function tests within the last 1 year, and if available, all microbiologic data from respiratory samples. We also require clinical notes from referring physician and pulmonary or infectious diseases specialists.