European Respiratory Society statement for defining respiratory exacerbations in children and adolescents with bronchiectasis for clinical trials.

Bronchiectasis is being diagnosed increasingly in children and adolescents. Recurrent respiratory exacerbations are common in children and adolescents with this chronic pulmonary disorder. Respiratory exacerbations are associated with an impaired quality of life, poorer long-term clinical outcomes, and substantial costs to the family and health systems. The 2021 European Respiratory Society (ERS) clinical practice guideline for the management of children and adolescents with bronchiectasis provided a definition of acute respiratory exacerbations for clinical use but to date there is no comparable universal definition for clinical research. Given the importance of exacerbations in the field, this ERS Task Force sought to obtain robust definitions of respiratory exacerbations for clinical research. The panel was a multidisciplinary team of specialists in paediatric and adult respiratory medicine, infectious disease, physiotherapy, primary care, nursing, radiology, methodology, patient advocacy, and parents of children and adolescents with bronchiectasis. We used a standardised process that included a systematic literature review, parent survey, and a Delphi approach involving 299 physicians (54 countries) caring for children and adolescents with bronchiectasis. Consensus was obtained for all four statements drafted by the panel as the disagreement rate was very low (range 3.6-7.2%). The panel unanimously endorsed the four consensus definitions for 1a) non-severe exacerbation and 1b) severe exacerbation as an outcome measure, 2) non-severe exacerbation for studies initiating treatment, and 3) resolution of a non-severe exacerbation for clinical trials involving children and adolescents with bronchiectasis. This ERS Task Force proposes using these internationally derived, consensus-based definitions of respiratory exacerbations for future clinical paediatric bronchiectasis research.

European Respiratory Society guidelines for the management of children and adolescents with bronchiectasis.

There is increasing awareness of bronchiectasis in children and adolescents, a chronic pulmonary disorder associated with poor quality of life for the child/adolescent and their parents, recurrent exacerbations, and costs to the family and health systems. Optimal treatment improves clinical outcomes. Several national guidelines exist, but there are no international guidelines.The European Respiratory Society (ERS) Task Force for the management of paediatric bronchiectasis sought to identify evidence-based management (investigation and treatment) strategies. It used the ERS standardised methodology that included a systematic review of the literature and application of the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach to define the quality of the evidence and level of recommendations.A multidisciplinary team of specialists in paediatric and adult respiratory medicine, infectious disease, physiotherapy, primary care, nursing, radiology, immunology, methodology, patient advocacy and parents of children/adolescents with bronchiectasis considered the most relevant clinical questions (for both clinicians and patients) related to managing paediatric bronchiectasis. 14 key clinical questions (seven PICO (Patient, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome) and seven narrative) were generated. The outcomes for each PICO were decided by voting by the panel and parent/patient advisory group.This guideline addresses the definition, diagnostic approach and antibiotic treatment of exacerbations, pathogen eradication, long-term antibiotic therapy, asthma-type therapies (inhaled corticosteroids and bronchodilators), mucoactive drugs, airway clearance, investigation of underlying causes of bronchiectasis, disease monitoring, factors to consider before surgical treatment, and the reversibility and prevention of bronchiectasis in children/adolescents. Benchmarking quality of care for children/adolescents with bronchiectasis to improve clinical outcomes and evidence gaps for future research could be based on these recommendations.

A core outcome set for bronchiectasis in children and adolescents for use in clinical research: an international consensus study.

Improving the treatment of non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis in children and adolescents requires high-quality research with outcomes that meet study objectives and are meaningful for patients and their parents and caregivers. In the absence of systematic reviews or agreement on the health outcomes that should be measured in paediatric bronchiectasis, we established an international, multidisciplinary panel of experts to develop a core outcome set (COS) that incorporates patient and parent perspectives. We undertook a systematic review from which a list of 21 outcomes was constructed; these outcomes were used to inform the development of separate surveys for ranking by parents and patients and by health-care professionals. 562 participants (201 parents and patients from 17 countries, 361 health-care professionals from 58 countries) completed the surveys. Following two consensus meetings, agreement was reached on a ten-item COS with five outcomes that were deemed to be essential: quality of life, symptoms, exacerbation frequency, non-scheduled health-care visits, and hospitalisations. Use of this international consensus-based COS will ensure that studies have consistent, patient-focused outcomes, facilitating research worldwide and, in turn, the development of evidence-based guidelines for improved clinical care and outcomes. Further research is needed to develop validated, accessible measurement instruments for several of the outcomes in this COS.

Principles of patient partnership: integrating patient perspectives into ERS Clinical Research Collaborations.

Patient and public involvement in research is increasingly considered a cornerstone of good research practice, and the research community recognises people with lived experience as valuable stakeholders within the research process. European Respiratory Society (ERS) strongly encourages patient input into its research programme and scientific activities, working in partnership with the European Lung Foundation (ELF) to facilitate this. Based on the ERS and ELF experience and best practice in the field of patient and public involvement, we developed a set of principles to which future ERS and ELF collaborations should adhere. These principles provide guidance on how to address key challenges when planning and conducting patient and public involvement in order to develop successful partnerships with patients and drive forward patient-centred research.

Quality standards for managing children and adolescents with bronchiectasis: an international consensus.

The global burden of bronchiectasis in children and adolescents is being recognised increasingly. However, marked inequity exists between, and within, settings and countries for resources and standards of care afforded to children and adolescents with bronchiectasis compared with those with other chronic lung diseases. The European Respiratory Society (ERS) clinical practice guideline for the management of bronchiectasis in children and adolescents was published recently. Here we present an international consensus of quality standards of care for children and adolescents with bronchiectasis based upon this guideline. The panel used a standardised approach that included a Delphi process with 201 respondents from the parents and patients' survey, and 299 physicians (across 54 countries) who care for children and adolescents with bronchiectasis. The seven quality standards of care statements developed by the panel address the current absence of quality standards for clinical care related to paediatric bronchiectasis. These internationally derived, clinician-, parent- and patient-informed, consensus-based quality standards statements can be used by parents and patients to access and advocate for quality care for their children and themselves, respectively. They can also be used by healthcare professionals to advocate for their patients, and by health services as a monitoring tool, to help optimise health outcomes.

Management of children and adolescents with bronchiectasis: summary of the ERS clinical practice guideline.

Bronchiectasis, characterised by chronic wet/productive cough with recurrent respiratory exacerbations and abnormal bronchial dilatation on computed tomography scans, remains an increasingly recognised but often neglected chronic pulmonary disorder in children and adolescents. An early diagnosis combined with optimal management offers the prospect, at least in some patients, of curing a condition previously considered irreversible. However, unlike in adults, until now no international paediatric guidelines existed. The recently published European Respiratory Society clinical practice guidelines for the management of children and adolescents with bronchiectasis attempts to address this clinical information gap. The guidelines were formulated by panel members comprised of experts from several relevant health fields, the European Lung Foundation and parents of children with bronchiectasis. Systematic reviews and the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach guided the nature and strength of recommendations. The recommendations are grouped into clinically relevant topics: diagnosis, evaluating for underlying causes, defining exacerbations, management, systematic care, monitoring, reversibility and prevention. The guidelines seek to achieve: 1) optimal lung growth, 2) preserved lung function, 3) enhanced quality of life, 4) minimal exacerbations, 5) few or no complications, and 6) if possible, reversal of lung injury for each child/adolescent with bronchiectasis. This review presents example cases that highlight the recommendations of the clinical practice guidelines. EDUCATIONAL AIMS: This article is intended for those involved in caring for children/adolescents with bronchiectasis. It aims to inform:Clinicians of the European Respiratory Society recommendations for the diagnosis and management of children/adolescents with bronchiectasis.Adolescents and parents of children/adolescents with bronchiectasis of these recommendations, so as to assist discussions with healthcare teams and help facilitate access to appropriate care.

Clinical and research priorities for children and young people with bronchiectasis: an international roadmap.

The global burden of children and young people (CYP) with bronchiectasis is being recognised increasingly. They experience a poor quality of life and recurrent respiratory exacerbations requiring additional treatment, including hospitalisation. However, there are no published data on patient-driven clinical needs and/or research priorities for paediatric bronchiectasis. Parent/patient-driven views are required to understand the clinical needs and research priorities to inform changes that benefit CYP with bronchiectasis and reduce their disease burden. The European Lung Foundation and the European Respiratory Society Task Force for paediatric bronchiectasis created an international roadmap of clinical and research priorities to guide, and as an extension of, the clinical practice guideline. This roadmap was based on two global web-based surveys. The first survey (10 languages) was completed by 225 respondents (parents of CYP with bronchiectasis and adults with bronchiectasis diagnosed in childhood) from 21 countries. The parent/patient survey encompassed both clinical and research priorities. The second survey, completed by 258 health practitioners from 54 countries, was limited to research priorities. The two highest clinical needs expressed by parents/patients were: having an action management plan for flare-ups/exacerbations and access to physiotherapists. The two highest health practitioners' research priorities related to eradication of airway pathogens and optimal airway clearance techniques. Based on both surveys, the top 10 research priorities were derived, and unanimous consensus statements were formulated from these priorities. This document addresses parents'/patients' clinical and research priorities from both the parents'/patients' and clinicians' perspectives and will help guide research and clinical efforts to improve the lives of people with bronchiectasis.