Microbiomes in COPD and bronchiectasis: What is the current landscape?

Sanjay Haresh Chotirmall
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

The use of next generation sequencing has revolutionised our detection and understanding of the airway microbiome in chronic respiratory diseases including COPD and bronchiectasis. Targeted amplicon sequencing reveals important associations between the respiratory microbiome and disease outcome while metagenomics can elucidate functionality. How best to apply this complex information into patient care, monitoring and potentially treatment remains challenging, and this talk will summarize what we currently know about the microbiome in COPD and bronchiectasis and how this may be leveraged for clinical application in the era of precision medicine.