Bronchiectasis in children

Associate Professor Cass Byrnes discusses the chronic wet cough in a child, including equity issues, clinical presentations and investigations.

Topics

History; what is important to ask?
Simple way to categorise cough in a child
Are there specific tests we need to order?
Does being immunised help a child?
What referral needs to be marked as urgent?
Practical management strategies
What is the prognosis for a child like Joseph?

Take home messages

Investigate a child with a frequent wet or productive sounding cough
Look for other risk factors
Low bar for referral
Address environmental insults if you are able

Resources

Toward making inroads in reducing the disparity of lung health in Australian indigenous and New Zealand Māori children Front Pediatr. (2015)
Chronic Suppurative Lung Disease and Bronchiectasis in Children and Adults in Australia and New Zealand Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand Guidelines Med J Aust. (2015)
Chronic wet cough: Protracted bronchitis, chronic suppurative lung disease and bronchiectasis Pediatric Pulmonology (2008)
Preventing and managing bronchiectasis in high-risk paediatric populations bpacnz (2020)

Presenter

Associate Professor Cass Byrnes

Respiratory Paediatrician

Catherine (Cass) Byrnes is an Associate Professor in the Paediatric Department of the University of Auckland and a Paediatric Respiratory Specialist at Starship Children's Health.
After graduating from the School of Medicine at the University of Auckland, she undertook paediatric training initially in New Zealand then in the United Kingdom, ultimately training in paediatric respiratory medicine at the Royal Brompton Hospital, National Heart and Lung Institute, London. On returning to New Zealand as a Paediatric Respiratory Specialist she developed a number of national services including an extensive respiratory outreach programme.

Currently she leads care for children and youth with bronchiectasis and cystic fibrosis. Cass has an especial interest in improving equity of healthcare and outcomes for children of Māori and Pacific ethnicity. Her major streams of research are in the prevention of the development of chronic lung disease following early lower respiratory tract infections and the prevention of disease progression in bronchiectasis and cystic fibrosis. To this end she has developed a number of international collaborations enrolling nationally with findings translated into evidence-based care.