Modern Pediatrics. Ukraine. (2026).1(153): 34-39. doi: 10.15574/SP.2026.1(153).3439
Mazulov O. V.¹, Rechkina O. O.², Rudenko S. M.^2,3, Ilchenko S. I.⁴, Voloha A. P.^5,3, Bondarenko A. V.⁶, Semianchuk V. B.⁷, Stepanovskyi Y. S.^6
1National Pirogov Memorial Medical University, Vinnytsya, Ukraine
²SI «F.G. Yanovsky National Institute of Phthisiology and Pulmonology of the NAMS of Ukraine», Kyiv
³National Children’s Specialized Hospital «OHMATDYT», Kyiv, Ukraine
⁴Dnipro State Medical University, Ukraine
⁵Shupyk National Healthcare University of Ukraine, Kyiv
⁶International European University, Kyiv, Ukraine
⁷Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University, Ukraine

For citation: Mazulov OV, Rechkina OO, Rudenko SM, Ilchenko SI, Voloha AP, Bondarenko AV et al. (2026). On the issue of diagnosing bronchiectasis in children – where do we stand now? Modern Pediatrics. Ukraine. 1(153): 34-39. doi: 10.15574/SP.2026.1(153).3439.
Article received: Nov 06, 2025. Accepted for publication: Feb 08, 2026.

Aim – to review and analyze contemporary literature data regarding bronchiectasis in children, to increase physician awareness and to improve recognition of bronchiectasis in pediatric patients, and to formulate and establish the main diagnostic criteria for bronchiectasis.
We conducted a literature search in the PubMed and Cochrane scientometric databases over the last 10 years (since January 2014) using the search terms «bronchiectasis» or «suppurative lung disease», and «diagnosis» or «endotypes», or «phenotypes», or «biomarkers», and «children». It highlights that the prevalence of bronchiectasis is much higher, and the clinical spectrum of diseases causing its development is much broader than previously thought. High-resolution computed tomography of the chest serves as the gold standard for instrumental diagnosis of bronchiectasis in children, with the modern diagnostic criterion of broncho-arterial ratio in children differing from that used previously.
Patients with suspected or newly diagnosed bronchiectasis require a minimum panel of diagnostic examinations to delineate the primary cause of bronchiectasis and subsequently form an individual treatment and rehabilitation program.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Keywords: bronchiectasis, children, computed tomography, diagnosis, chronic cough, pneumonia, cystic fibrosis, immunodeficiency.

REFERENCES

1. Brower KS, Del Vecchio MT, Aronoff SC. (2014, Dec 10). The etiologies of non-CF bronchiectasis in childhood: a systematic review of 989 subjects. BMC Pediatr. 14: 4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-014-0299-y; PMid:25492164 PMCid:PMC4275950

2. Bustamante-Marin XM, Ostrowski LE. (2017, Apr 3). Cilia and Mucociliary Clearance. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 9(4): a028241. https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a028241; PMid:27864314 PMCid:PMC5378048

3. Chakaya J, Khan M, Ntoumi F, Aklillu E, Fatima R, Mwaba P et al. (2021). Global Tuberculosis Report 2020 – Reflections on the Global TB burden, treatment and prevention efforts. International Journal of Infectious Diseases. 113; Suppl 1: S7-S12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2021.02.107; PMid:33716195 PMCid:PMC8433257

4. Chalmers JD, Aliberti S, Polverino E, Vendrell M, Crichton M, Loebinger M et al. (2016, Jan 20). The EMBARC European Bronchiectasis Registry: protocol for an international observational study. ERJ Open Res.;2(1):00081-2015. https://doi.org/10.1183/23120541.00081-2015; PMid:27730179 PMCid:PMC5005162

5. Chang AB, Boyd J, Bush A, Grimwood K, Hill AT, Powell Z et al. (2021, Oct 21). Children's Bronchiectasis Education Advocacy and Research Network (Child-BEAR-Net): an ERS Clinical Research Collaboration on improving outcomes of children and adolescents with bronchiectasis. Eur Respir J. 58(4): 2101657. https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.01657-2021; PMid:34675034

6. Chang AB, Bush A, Grimwood K. (2018, Sep 8). Bronchiectasis in children: diagnosis and treatment. Lancet. 392(10150): 866-879. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31554-X. Erratum in: Lancet. 2018 Oct 6; 392(10154): 1196. PMID: 30215382. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32405-X; PMid:30319109

7. Chang AB, Fortescue R, Grimwood K, Alexopoulou E, Bell L, Boyd J et al. (2021, Aug 26). European Respiratory Society guidelines for the management of children and adolescents with bronchiectasis. Eur Respir J. 58(2): 2002990. https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.02990-2020; PMid:33542057

8. Chang AB, Redding GJ, Everard ML. (2008, Jun). Chronic wet cough: Protracted bronchitis, chronic suppurative lung disease and bronchiectasis. Pediatr Pulmonol. 43(6): 519-531. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppul.20821; PMid:18435475 PMCid:PMC7167774

9. Chang AB, Van Asperen PP, Glasgow N, Robertson CF, Mellis CM, Masters IB et al. (2015, Mar). Children with chronic cough: when is watchful waiting appropriate? development of likelihood ratios for assessing children with chronic cough. Chest. 147(3): 745-753. https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.14-2155; PMid:25501672

10. Conway S, Balfour-Lynn IM, De Rijcke K, Drevinek P, Foweraker J, Havermans T et al. (2014, May). European Cystic Fibrosis Society Standards of Care: Framework for the Cystic Fibrosis Centre. J Cyst Fibros. 13; Suppl 1: S3-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcf.2014.03.009; PMid:24856776 PMCid:PMC7105239

11. Goyal V, Chang AB. (2022, Mar). Bronchiectasis in Childhood. Clin Chest Med. 43(1): 71-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccm.2021.11.006; PMid:35236563

12. Goyal V, Grimwood K, Marchant J, Masters IB, Chang AB. (2014, Jun). Does failed chronic wet cough response to antibiotics predict bronchiectasis? Arch Dis Child. 99(6): 522-525. Epub 2014 Feb 12. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2013-304793; PMid:24521788

13. Goyal V, Grimwood K, Marchant J, Masters IB, Chang AB. (2016, May). Pediatric bronchiectasis: No longer an orphan disease. Pediatr Pulmonol. 51(5): 450-469. Epub 2016 Feb 3. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppul.23380; PMid:26840008

14. Hill AT, Sullivan AL, Chalmers JD, De Soyza A, Elborn SJ, Floto AR et al. (2019, Jan). British Thoracic Society Guideline for bronchiectasis in adults. Thorax. 74; Suppl 1: 1-69. https://doi.org/10.1136/thoraxjnl-2018-212463; PMid:30545985

15. Kapur N, Masel JP, Watson D, Masters IB, Chang AB. (2011, Jun). Bronchoarterial ratio on high-resolution CT scan of the chest in children without pulmonary pathology: need to redefine bronchial dilatation. Chest. 139(6): 1445-1450. Epub 2010 Sep 23. https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.10-1763; PMid:20864608

16. Le Roux DM, Nicol MP, Myer L, Vanker A, Stadler JAM et al. (2019, Oct 15). Lower Respiratory Tract Infections in Children in a Well-vaccinated South African Birth Cohort: Spectrum of Disease and Risk Factors. Clin Infect Dis. 69(9): 1588-1596. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciz017; PMid:30925191

17. Mazulov O, Powell Z, Powell E, Bush A, Chang AB, Kantar A et al. (2023, Aug). World Bronchiectasis Day: It is time for global action to promote equity of care. Pediatr Pulmonol. 58(8): 2183-2186. Epub 2023 May 12. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppul.26467; PMid:37171114

18. McCallum GB, Binks MJ. (2017, Feb 20). lThe Epidemiology of Chronic Suppurative Lung Disease and Bronchiectasis in Children and Adolescents. Front Pediatr. 5: 27. PMID: 28265556; PMCID: PMC5316980. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2017.00027

19. McCallum GB, Chatfield MD, Morris PS, Chang AB. (2016, Jun). Risk factors for adverse outcomes of Indigenous infants hospitalized with bronchiolitis. Pediatr Pulmonol. 51(6): 613-623. Epub 2015 Nov 17. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppul.23342; PMid:26575201 PMCid:PMC7167668

20. Polverino E, Dimakou K, Traversi L, Bossios A, Haworth CS, Loebinger MR et al. (2024, Jun). Bronchiectasis and asthma: Data from the European Bronchiectasis Registry (EMBARC). J Allergy Clin Immunol. 153(6): 1553-1562. Epub 2024 Feb 23. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2024.01.027. Erratum in: J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2024 Oct; 154(4): 1078. PMID: 38401857. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2024.07.010; PMid:39368827

21. Polverino E, Goeminne PC, McDonnell MJ, Aliberti S, Marshall SE, Loebinger MR et al. (2017, Sep 9). European Respiratory Society guidelines for the management of adult bronchiectasis. Eur Respir J. 50(3): 1700629. https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.00629-2017; PMid:28889110

22. Quint JK, Smith MP. (2019, May). Paediatric and adult bronchiectasis: Diagnosis, disease burden and prognosis. Respirology. 24(5): 413-422. Epub 2019 Feb 19. https://doi.org/10.1111/resp.13495; PMid:30779274

23. Satırer O, Mete Yesil A, Emiralioglu N, Tugcu GD, Yalcın E, Dogru D et al. (2018, Apr). A review of the etiology and clinical presentation of non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis: A tertiary care experience. Respir Med. 137: 35-39. Epub 2018 Feb 24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmed.2018.02.013; PMid:29605210

24. Wu J, Bracken J, Lam A, Francis KL, Ramanauskas F, Chang AB et al. (2021, Oct). Refining diagnostic criteria for paediatric bronchiectasis using low-dose CT scan. Respir Med. 187: 106547. Epub 2021 Jul 24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmed.2021.106547; PMid:34340172

25. Wurzel DF, Marchant JM, Yerkovich ST, Upham JW, Mackay IM et al. (2014, Jun). Prospective characterization of protracted bacterial bronchitis in children. Chest. 145(6): 1271-1278. https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.13-2442; PMid:24435356 PMCid:PMC7173205

26. Wurzel DF, Marchant JM, Yerkovich ST, Upham JW, Petsky HL, Smith-Vaughan H et al. (2016, Nov). Protracted Bacterial Bronchitis in Children: Natural History and Risk Factors for Bronchiectasis. Chest. 150(5): 1101-1108. Epub 2016 Aug 24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2016.06.030; PMid:27400908