Prevalence of Bronchiectasis in COPD Patients

Prevalence of and Prognostic Impact of Bronchiectasis in COPD Patients

The identification of bronchiectasis in COPD has been defined as a different clinical COPD phenotype with greater symptomatic severity, more frequent chronic bronchial infection and exacerbations, and poor prognosis. A causal association has not yet been proven, but it is biologically plausible that COPD, and particularly the infective and exacerbator COPD phenotypes, could be the cause of bronchiectasis without any other known etiology, beyond any mere association or comorbidity.

The relationship between bronchiectasis and COPD has generated several questions. Is there any real increased prevalence of bronchiectasis in patients with COPD? Does the presence of bronchiectasis have an impact on the clinical characteristics, prognosis, or response to treatment in COPD, to the extent that it can be considered a distinct clinical phenotype? Should bronchiectasis in patients with COPD be seen as merely a comorbidity, or as a consequence of the disease's natural history? Is there a causal relationship between COPD and bronchiectasis? If this is the case, what are the pathophysiological mechanisms responsible for this relationship? And, finally, what is the role of chronic bronchial infection and exacerbations in this relationship?

Inclusion Criteria:

• COPD patients based on GOLD 2019 criteria, stable or in exacerbation

Exclusion Criteria:

• acute pneumonia within 2 months
• malignancy
• congenital bronchiectasis ( immobile cilia syndrome, Kartagnar syndrome).
• Pregnancy