Two cases of severe bronchiectasis successfully treated with a prolonged course of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole

Two patients with severe bronchiectasis, one patient without other disease and the other with hyper IgE syndrome, were successfully treated with long-term therapy with low doses of trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ). Recurrent respiratory infections with productive cough and high fever were resistant to various antibiotics and often disturbed the patients' activities in daily life. However, they showed marked improvement following TMP-SMZ therapy, which was started for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. MRSA disappeared some months later, but Pseudomonas aeruginosa appeared again in the sputum. Both patients, however, have remained free from symptoms for over one year.