BETTER
Bronchiectasis is a chronic lung sickness. The breathing tubes (bronchi) have been damaged and don’t work as well as healthy breathing tubes. Children with bronchiectasis often have a wet sounding cough which can come and go, but sometimes can stay for a long time. Children with bronchiectasis get sick more often with chest infections.
In this study we are investigating if erdosteine, a medication that is currently not used in Australia, can help to reduce exacerbations (flare-ups) in young people with bronchiectasis. Erdosteine is used in Europe and the USA for the treatment of chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Erdosteine is a mucolytic medication which thins mucus in the airways and makes it easier for the mucus to be coughed out. Its role in the long-term treatment of bronchiectasis has not been examined or established. This medication will be taken twice daily either as a capsule or oral suspension (liquid) depending on age of participant. We believe that it is possible that erdosteine could be helpful in reducing exacerbations and improving other clinical outcomes in young people with bronchiectasis. We are also examining whether sputum and blood can be used as biomarkers to predict acute flare-ups. In a subgroup of children, we will be examining the bacteria in the sputum and/or blood (gene expression means we are looking at the proteins and molecules that cells are making, it does not examine genes).