First German-Language Guideline for the Management of Bronchiectasis Disease Published

The field of pneumology is enriched with a new guideline: the German-language, consensus-based guideline "Management of Adult Patients with Bronchiectasis Disease" recently extends the range of AWMF guidelines. It was developed by top scientists from Germany, Austria and Switzerland under the leadership of Professor Dr Felix C. Ringshausen from the DZL site BREATH at Hannover Medical School (MHH)*. Other scientists from the BREATH site and the DZL sites in Großhansdorf (ARCN), Heidelberg (TLRC) and Munich (CPC-M) also contributed to the guideline.Bronchiectasis was considered a neglected lung disease, significantly underestimated in its frequency and relevance until just a few years ago. This perception has changed with the development of the S2k guideline, which provides extensive, valid information on pathophysiology, diagnostics, and therapy as well as specific recommendations for daily clinical practice, greatly benefiting patients and their treating physicians.

The list of guidelines addressing pneumological conditions is lengthy. However, bronchiectasis had long existed in the shadows without any dedicated guidelines. In recent years, thanks to the targeted efforts of the late Professor Dr. Tobias Welte from MHH, significant new insights have been gained. The scientific momentum for bronchiectasis was notably increased through a European initiative, which Professor Welte established together with Professor Dr. James Chalmers from the University of Dundee in Scotland, culminating in the first "World Bronchiectasis Conference" and a consensus meeting in Hannover in 2016. This highlighted that bronchiectasis is much more common than previously thought, with a significant increase in prevalence with age.

EMBARC and PROGNOSIS: Register Studies Provide Valuable Information

Key to further developments in the field of bronchiectasis was the launch of two register studies, EMBARC (The European Multicentre Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration, www.bronchiectasis.eu) and PROGNOSIS (The PROspective German NOn-CF Bronchiectasis Patient Registry), which work closely together. Since 2015, the PROGNOSIS register study has built a national, representative, prospective, observational, and longitudinal database across Germany, representing the country within the European bronchiectasis register, EMBARC.
The knowledge about bronchiectasis has increased more in the past five years through these initiatives than in the previous five decades. The creation and establishment of an S2k guideline for bronchiectasis was a necessary step in the right direction. It will also ensure that patients with bronchiectasis are better and more precisely cared for in the future.

*All relevant professional societies in the German-speaking countries were involved in the creation of the S2k guideline for the "Management of Adult Patients with Bronchiectasis Disease." The lead was taken by:

• The German Society for Pneumology and Ventilatory Medicine,
• Scientists from the German Center for Lung Research (DZL) at Hannover Medical School and other DZL locations.
• BREATH-scientist Professor Dr. med. Felix C. Ringshausen, Senior Physician at the Clinic for Pneumology and Infectiology at MHH, Coordinator, and Scientific Director of the first German-language S2K guideline for the management of adult patients with bronchiectasis disease.

Original publication:
S2k-Leitlinie: Management erwachsener Patientinnen und Patienten mit Bronchiektasen-Erkrankung (awmf.org)

Source: BREATH