ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the cognition of the diagnosis and management of bronchiectasis among respiratory specialists.Methods:Between May and June 2020, a questionnaire survey based on expert consensus and guidelines was conducted among respiratory specialists from 50 hospitals from Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. Total 691 questionnaires were distributed and 641 were received. 601 valid questionnaires were chosen for further analysis with an effective recovery rate of 87.0%. The respondents were required to finish the e-questionnaires independently in terms of cognition of diagnosing, severity assessment, treatments and Chinese medicines of bronchiectasis. The responses were collected online and the cognitive levels were evaluated by calculating the correct rates of corresponding questions.Results:540 (89.9%) of the respondents agreed that high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) was the gold standard for diagnosing of bronchiectasis, but 318 (52.9%) had an incomplete understanding of common radiographic manifestations of bronchiectasis, and different cognitive degrees of common radiographic manifestations of bronchiectasis existed among respondents with different qualifications or working in different levels of hospitals ( P<0.05). Only 118 (19.6%) of the respondents were familiar with severity assessments of bronchiectasis, but 65 (55.1%) of the 118 respondents said they won′t apply these severity assessments to patient during their clinical works. For the treatment of patients with stable bronchiectasis, airway clearance techniques were most recommended by specialists surveyed [410 (68.2%)], among which, postural drainage was the most known method [559 (93.0%)]. For patients undergoing an acute exacerbation, most respondents recommended antibiotics [600 (99.8%)] as the primary treatment, and examinations such as sputum culture [544 (90.5%)], inflammatory markers [523 (87.0%)] should be performed as well. 504 (83.9%) thought that pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most common conditioned pathogen for bronchiectasis. For patients with frequent exacerbations (≥3 per year), 385 (64.1%) of the respondents supported the therapeutic effect of long-term antibiotics, however, among the 385 respondents supporting long-term antibiotics, only [113 (29.4%)] were willing to recommend long-term antibiotic treatment actively during their clinical practice. Besides, 304 (50.6%) respondents held a positive attitude to the clinical effect of traditional Chinese medicine therapies. Among 304 respondents holds the point of supporting, only 86 (28.3%) were willing to recommend traditional Chinese medicine to patients actively, differences about the attitude and clinical behaviors were found between respondents working in different levels of hospitals ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Respiratory specialists′ cognition on diagnosis and treatments of bronchiectasis remains inadequate, and cognitive levels differ among respondents working in different levels of hospitals. There is a gap between respondents′ cognition and clinical practice. Further education and trainings are necessary for improving respiratory specialists′ knowledge for timely diagnosis and standard treatment of bronchiectasis.