bronchiectases/ bronchomalacia

[natalie1982]

my son is 4 years old, hes suffered terribly with his chest since he was 6 months old.
he had a chest xray in dec and had an app a couple of weeks ago. hes due to have  CT of his lungs in 2 weeks time.
hes ches xray showed evidence of bronchiectases.
also went on to say he has some element of bronchomalacia.
depends what the CT shows will determine if he needs a broncshcopy.

ive had some info on his but wondered what info you had on the condition.
they feel he has had it since he was a baby due to the amount of chest probs etc hes had.
abit worried if this is the case y it wasnt picked up sooner.

[natalie1982]

thank you
he has been tested for CF twice, most recetly 9 months ago and previosuly when he was 14 months old, both where negative.
he also had his immunity checked at the time of his first sweat test which again showed it was fine.
we live in england. we r due to go into hospital on the 15th.they did say that a simple lug ifectio could of caused it. hes had pneumoia a few times, plus bronchiltis, numerous chest infections etc.
thank you for your reply.

[National Jewish Health]

At your son's age bronchiectasis, with or without bronchomalacia, is most commonly seen with the disease cystic fibrosis (CF).  Primary bronchomalacia can also pre-dispose one to this disease, generally initially with anatomically limited bronchiectasis.  Immunodeficiency states are often seen with bronchiectasis and, with or without immunodeficiency, bronchiectasis is also caused by a variety of infectious agents, most notoriously with atypical forms of tuberculosis (TB), encompassed by the term, mycobacterium avium complex (MAC).

You might want to ask his doctor about the likelihood of your son's bronchiectasis being caused by one of the above.  Any child who suffers "terribly with his chest since he was 6 months old" should be evaluated for cystic fibrosis and immunodeficiency states; the former, CF, is a common disease for which a number of countries now perform newborn screening and the latter, immunodeficiency, not uncommon.  If your son has CF, you might want to check your family histories.

Good luck.