Publication:

Clinical, etiological, microbiological and radiological features of bronchiectasis patients-an institution based analytical cross-sectional study

Background Bronchiectasis is an irreversible dilatation of more than one bronchus, with decreased clearance of secretions and expiratory flow. Secondary bacterial infection is so common, which worsens the disease. Sequelae of the disease lead to poor quality of life, with increased morbidity and mortality. This issue has limited literature.

Methods Patients diagnosed to have bronchiectasis by HRCT chest in a tertiary care hospital, Alluri Sitarama academy of medical sciences, Eluru, A. P were included. Detailed clinical history was taken. After basic investigations, sputum samples were sent to CBNAAT and routine bacterial culture sensitivity. These patients were subjected to spirometry. Parameters measured in spirometry were forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1st second (FEV1), ratio of FEV1 to FVC (FEV1/FVC).

Results Forty patients were enrolled in this study. Majority of them were females i.e., 24 (60%). Most common symptom/sign was crackles (95%) followed by productive cough (92.5%), dyspnea (55%) and haemoptysis (28%). Increased growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (37.5%) was found followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (30%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (15%), Staphylococcus aureus (2.5%) and H. influenzae (2.5%).

Conclusions Bronchiectasis, which is an end result of various diseases, commonly presents with productive cough, dyspnoea and haemoptysis, either as a single entity or as comorbidity with COPD or asthma. Knowledge of prevalent etiologies and types of bronchiectasis helps clinician for effective diagnosis and treatment of these patients.