Pulmonary targeted antibiotics in bronchiectasis; inhalers vs. nebulisers. A qualitative and quantitative assessment of patients' attitudes.

Background: Regular, twice daily nebulised antibiotics are useful in managing bronchiectasis with 10 – 20% of patients receiving such therapy. This patient population typically has severe bronchiectasis requiring multiple other medications. Methods: 90 adult bronchiectasis patients completed questionnaires. 16 patients and/or carers attended focus groups providing in-depth information of lived experience using inhaled antibiotics. Thematic data analysis (TA) allowed questionnaire development that was applied to the larger group. Results: TA of the focus group data identified that many patients found nebulised th…