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What to do when pulmonologist is passive?
MAC & Bronchiectasis | Last Active: 6 hours ago | Replies (32)Comment receiving replies
@sueinmn
Not to split hairs or raise a red flag but Bronchiectasis is no longer considered a rare disease.
"Previously classified as a rare or orphan disease, bronchiectasis has now been reported at rates up to 566 per 100,000 population with a prevalence that has increased 40% in the past 10 years." [2018]
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6173801/
This is good news for all of us. As BE becomes more common and more widely recognized, theoretically more pulmonologists will become familiar with the disease and include it in their differential diagnosis.
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@scoop It might not be "rare" in prevalence, but treatment knowledge and experience does not seem to be increasing as fast as one would hope.
Like you, I hope that "..."theoretically more pulmonologists will become familiar with the disease and include it in their differential diagnosis...'' I plan to talk to my pulmonologist about how she/we can help advance knowledge and recognition. With the use of diagnostic tools, there should be a way to get there.
But once recognized, the key is to be current with best practices & treatment protocols. My Fear is the recognition may be there, but the people with up-to-date skills will not.
Just to get a picture of totals, based on numbers from the Lung Association, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation, and bronchiectasisinfo.org:
Bronchiectasis 600,000 people (based on increasing awareness/diagnosis) or .18% of people,
COPD 11,100,000 or 3.3% of people, and Asthma 28,200,000 or 8% of people
That means the pulmonologist is 18 times more likely to see people with COPD and 450+ times more likely to see people with Asthma than people with Bronchiectasis.
Where will their treatment knowledge and expertise be the greatest?