Objective: We aimed to analyze the prevalence of bronchiectasis among patients hospitalized with asthma and to assess the effect of suffering bronchiectasis on in-hospital mortality (IHM).
Methods: We used the Spanish National Hospital Discharge Database from 2000 to 2015 to evaluate all admissions for asthma exacerbation as the main diagnosis, dividing them according to the presence or absence of associated bronchiectasis. We assessed time trends in the prevalence, clinical characteristics, length of hospital stay, costs, and IHM.
Results: Of 342,644 admissions for asthma, 10,377 (3.02%) had bronchiectasis. The prevalence of bronchiectasis increased from 2.16% in 2001 to 4.47% in 2015 (p < 0.001). Compared to patients without bronchiectasis, those with bronchiectasis were more frequently women (77.06% vs. 22.94%, p < 0.001), were older (68.87 ± 15.16 vs. 47.05 ± 30.66 years, p < 0.001) and had more comorbid conditions (Charlson comorbidity index ≥ 2: 9.45% vs. 6.58%, p < 0.001). Pseudomonas (8% vs. 0.66%, p < 0.001), Aspergillus (0.93% vs. 0.15%, p < 0.001), eosinophilia (0.29% vs. 0.17%, p = 0.005) and IHM (2.07% vs. 1.2%, p < 0.001) were more frequent in patients with bronchiectasis. After multivariable adjustments, IHM was not associated with bronchiectasis. The presence of bronchiectasis was associated with a longer length of hospital stay and higher costs.
Conclusions: Admissions for asthma with bronchiectasis have increased over time in Spain. In our investigation, the presence of bronchiectasis was not associated with higher IHM, but it increased the length of hospital stay and costs.
Keywords: Bronchial asthma; bronchiectasis; cost; in-hospital mortality; prevalence; readmission.