الفهرس 
BroncheiactasisOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Bronchiectasis is a chronic respiratory condition characterized by cough, sputum production and increased susceptibility to lower respiratory tract infection due to abnormal and irreversible dilatation of the bronchi and bronchioles involving vicious circle of transmural infection and inflammation with mediator release.
There is usually an initial event which causes impairment of mucociliary clearance of the bronchial tree .So, bronchiectasis has the potential to cause devastating illness by predisposing individuals to recurrent respiratory tract infection.
While the lower respiratory tract is normally sterile, conditions such as bronchiectasis enable colonization by microbes such as bacteria, however, the airways of patients with bronchiectasis are also chronically colonized or infected by microorganisms such as yeasts, filamentous fungi and non tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM).
Non tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) also known as opportunistic, environmental or atypical mycobacteria are ubiquitous in the environment and have been isolated from soil, tap water, dust and clinical laboratories.
Diagnosis of NTM is made by repeated isolation and identification of the pathogen with compatible clinical, radiological and microbiological features.