Bronchiectasis can significantly impact a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Bronchiectasis in patients with COPD is associated with:
(1) moderate-to-severe airflow obstruction
(2) the presence of pathogenic bacteria
(3) bacterial colonization of the bronchiectatic segment
(4) acute exacerbations (at least 1 in the past year)
(5) increased mortality (fully adjusted hazard ratio 2.5)
It is important to aggressively treat bronchiectasis if it is identified. It is important to specifically look for bronchiectasis if the patient has advanced disease and frequent acute exacerbations.
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