Bronchial Airway Thickening - what is it?

M

mltoliver

New member
I am the mother of a 2 and 1/2 year old daughter who was diagnosed with CF 10 mo. ago.

We are just starting Pulmozyme and she is doing very well. At our appointment yesterday, we were told that her chest x-ray shows some thickening of the bronchial walls, they are still waiting for the final reading of the x-ray and we won't have that until next week due to the holiday weekend.

Our physician said that this is normal, but I am concerned. Is this the early stage of lung disease? Is there anything that we can do for her?
 
T

thelizardqueen

New member
Pulmozyme thins the mucus produced by CF. Mucus in the lungs and airways is very common and normal. It doesn't necessarily mean an early stage of lung disease. Us CFers produce thick mucus where ever mucus is normally produced: sinuses, lungs, reproductive area, etc.
 
M

Mockingbird

New member
Well, I mean CF is kind of a lung disease, so... Anyway, It just means her lungs are a little dehydrated. Everyone has mucus in their lungs; the difference of a CF patient is our bodies cannot get moisture to the lungs, so the mucus thickens up and then we have to cough it out, that's all. =-) To help her, just make sure she takes her medication, and if the docs have you doing airway clearance, then be sure to do that.

If you have any other questions, don't be afraid to ask.
 
L

LisaV

New member
You might want to read this from Merck for an overview ( <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/section19/chapter267/267a.jsp">http://www.merck.com/mrkshared...19/chapter267/267a.jsp</a> ). It's a bit out of date because it showing a median servival of 31 years. The one thing I notice that it says about bronchial thickenin is under "Pathology and Pathophysiology" where it says "As the pulmonary process progresses, bronchial walls thicken; the airways fill with purulent, viscid secretions; areas of atelectasis develop; and hilar lymph nodes enlarge." which basically means that people with CF develop bronchiectasis - which, of course, we all know.
 
D

dyza

New member
I think, and I may be wrong, the brochial airway is the part between the lungs, where the 2 lungs join up to form one tube. So technically it is not part of the lung, if you get what I mean......hope i'm right.
 
A

anonymous

New member
The bronchial airways are the large airways in the lungs. When Samantha was about 2 1/2 her doctor ordered a lung CT scan to get a clearer picture of her pulmonary status and to check for evidence of bronchiectasis.

Among other things, her report does indicate some thickening of the bronchial walls especially in the lower lobes. However, to confirm bronchiectasis the size of the bronchi have to be larger than the adjacent vessels (blood vessels I believe). Samantha's were approximately the same size, so although she does have beginning lung disease, bronchiectasis was not yet confirmed.

To the initial poster: Samantha has done much better with the addition of the Vest - It has done wonders for clearing her airways.

Maria (mom to Sami 3 years old w/cf)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top