What Causes Bronchiectasis?
Bronchiectasis is caused by injury to the lower
airways. This injury may be caused by another disease, including:
- Cystic fibrosis, which leads to almost half of
the cases of bronchiectasis in the United States.
- Severe pneumonia.
- Whooping cough (uncommon because most people are
now vaccinated against it).
- Tuberculosis (TB) and other similar
infections.
- Immunodeficiency disorders, such as HIV infection
and AIDS.
- Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, an
allergic reaction to a fungus called aspergillus that causes swelling in the
airways.
- Kartagener's Syndrome, a rare inherited disease
that involves the cilia (sil'-ee-ah). These are small hair-like structures that
line your airways and normally clear out mucus.
- Other disorders that affect the function of the
cilia.
Other conditions that can injure the lower airways
and lead to bronchiectasis include:
- Blockage of your airways by a growth or a
noncancerous tumor
- Blockage of your airways by something you
inhaled—for example, a piece of a toy or a peanut that you inhaled when
you were a child
- Fungal infections.
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