Background: Bronchiectasis is a progressive chronic disease associated with an increased risk of mortality.
Objectives: To identify the prevalence of comorbidities in patients with bronchiectasis and the impact of these comorbidities on mortality.
Material and methods: A cohort of 93 patients with computed tomography (CT)-confirmed bronchiectasis admitted consecutively to a tertiary teaching hospital was observed over a period of 5 years. All patients were carefully observed for comorbidities and mortality.
Results: A total of 43 men (46.2%) and 50 women (53.8%) with a median age of 66.0 years (interquartile range (IQR) 59.7-74.0 years), and a median of 3 comorbidities at baseline (IQR 1-5) were observed. The mortality rate during the observation period was 16%. The median number of comorbidities was significantly higher in the group of non-survivors (5 (IQR 3-5.75)) compared with survivors (3 (IQR 1-4); p = 0.0100). The burden of comorbidities was associated with an increased hazard of death: having 4 or more comorbidities was associated with an increased risk of death compared to patients with 2 or 3 coexisting illnesses (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.35 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) [0.41, 4.41]); p = 0.0494). The Bronchiectasis Aetiology Comorbidity Index (BACI) was a significant predictor of death in patients with severe bronchiectasis.
Conclusion: We found a significant number of comorbidities in patients with bronchiectasis. In these patients, the comorbidity burden has an impact on mortality. The BACI is a useful tool for the clinical assessment of patients with severe bronchiectasis.
Keywords: bronchiectasis; comorbidities; mortality; survival.