Suspected bronchiectasis tied to higher risk of mortality in smokers: Study

The study found that suspected bronchiectasis in participants with normal and obstructed airflow was associated with a higher risk of mortality. This increased risk, the investigators suggest, could be explained by the frequent inflammation and exposure to pathogens caused by smoking. Since obstructed airflow is a characteristic of COPD, the study also furthered understanding of the association between mortality risk and disease severity.

“Our study represents one of the largest evaluations of suspected bronchiectasis in understudied groups of adults with a history of smoking,” said corresponding author Alejandro Diaz, MD, MPH, of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. “These findings suggest that using lung imaging as a clinical tool to identify bronchiectasis could help improve patient care.”

References:- Alejandro A. Diaz, MD, MPH, Wei Wang, PhD, Jose L. Orejas, MD, Rim Elalami, BS, Wojciech R. Dolliver, MD, Pietro Nardelli, PhD, Ruben San José Estépar, MS, Bina Choi, MD, Carrie L. Pistenmaa, MD, MPH, James C. Ross, PhD, Diego J. Maselli, MD, Andrew Yen, MD, Kendra A. Young, PhD, Gregory L. Kinney, PhD, Michael H. Cho, MD, MPH, and Raul San José Estépar, PhD View fewer authors Author, Article, and Disclosure Information https://doi.org/10.7326/M23-1125