Bronchiectasis refers to both the name of a disease and a single radiological appearance that may, or may not, be associated with disease. As chronic respiratory disease, bronchiectasis is characterized by a variable range of signs and symptoms that may overlap with other chronic respiratory conditions. The proper identification of bronchiectasis as a disease in both primary and secondary care is of paramount importance. However, a standardized definition of radiologically and clinically significant bronchiectasis is still missing. Disease heterogeneity is a hallmark of bronchiectasis and applies not only to radiological features and clinical manifestations but also to other aspects of the disease, including the etiological and microbiological diagnosis as well as the evaluation of pulmonary function. Although the guidelines suggest a “minimum bundle” of tests, the diagnostic approach to bronchiectasis is challenging and may be driven by the “treatable traits” approach based on endotypes and biological characteristics. A broad spectrum of diagnostic tests could be used to investigate the etiology of bronchiectasis as well as other pulmonary, extrapulmonary, and environmental traits. Individualizing bronchiectasis workup according to the site of care (e.g., primary, secondary, and tertiary care) could help optimize patients' management and reduce healthcare costs.

支气管扩张是指疾病的名称和可能与或可能不与疾病相关的单一放射学表现。作为慢性呼吸系统疾病，支气管扩张症的特征在于可能与其他慢性呼吸系统疾病重叠的各种体征和症状。在初级和二级保健中正确识别支气管扩张症是至关重要的。然而，放射学和临床显着支气管扩张的标准化定义仍然缺失。疾病异质性是支气管扩张的标志，不仅适用于放射学特征和临床表现，还适用于疾病的其他方面，包括病原学和微生物学诊断以及肺功能评估。尽管指南建议进行“最小捆绑”测试，但支气管扩张的诊断方法具有挑战性，并且可能受到基于内型和生物学特征的“可治疗特征”方法的驱动。国外诊断测试谱可用于调查支气管扩张的病因以及其他肺部、肺外和环境特征。根据护理部位（例如，初级、二级和三级护理）对支气管扩张进行个体化检查可以帮助优化患者的管理并降低医疗成本。