Bronchiectasis: A retrospective study of clinical and aetiological investigation in a general respiratory department

Autor: A. Amorim, J. Bento, A.P. Vaz, I. Gomes, J. de Gracia, V. Hespanhol, A. Marques
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2015
Předmět:
Zdroj: Revista Portuguesa de Pneumologia (English Edition), Vol 21, Iss 1, Pp 5-10 (2015)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2173-5115
DOI: 10.1016/j.rppnen.2014.06.009
Popis: Background: Bronchiectasis can result from many diseases, which makes the aetiological investigation a complex process demanding special resources and experience. The aetiological diagnosis has been proven to be useful for the therapeutic approach. Objective: Evaluate how accurately and extensive the clinical and aetiological research was for adult bronchiectasis patients in pulmonology outpatient service which were not following a pre-existing protocol. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 202 adult patients with bronchiectasis, including the examinations performed to explain the aetiology. Results: The mean age of the patients was 54 ± 15 years, there was a predominance of female (63.9%) and non-smoker (70%) patients. Functional evaluation showed a mild airway obstruction.The sputum microbiological examination was available for 168 patients (43.1% had 3 or more sputum examinations during one year). Immunoglobulins and α1-antitrypsin were measured in around 50% of the patients. The sweat test and the CF genotyping test were performed in 18% and 17% of the patients, respectively.The most commonly identified cause was post-infectious (30.3%), mostly tuberculosis (27.2%). No definitive aetiological diagnosis was established in 57.4% of the patients. We achieved a lower aetiological diagnosis if we compare our series with studies in which a diagnostic algorithm was applied prospectively. Conclusions: The general characteristics of our patients were similar with other series. Detailed investigation of bronchiectasis is not a standard practice in our outpatient service. These results suggest that the use of a predefined protocol, based on current guidelines, could improve the assessment of these patients and facilitate the achievement of a definitive aetiology. Keywords: Adult, Bronchiectasis, Clinical investigation, Aetiology, Respiratory service
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