Typical pathway from presentation to diagnosis
Bronchiectasis is diagnosed by a CT scan of the chest. A normal chest x-ray cannot confirm bronchiectasis – nor can it be used to say that bronchiectasis is not present.
The CT scan shows airways that are permanently damaged and look like cysts. Due to the appearance of the airways, this type of bronchiectasis is described as cystic* bronchiectasis. An arrow points to the these cysts.
* In this context the term cystic is not related to cystic fibrosis. It is purely used to describe the shape of the airways (typically this can be associated with more moderate to severe bronchiectasis).
Last Reviewed -12th November 2019