Abstract
INTRODUCTION: in recent years, the combination of bronchiectases (BRs) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been described as a potential new phenotype of COPD due to its clinical features and different prognosis. The purpose of this study was to analyse the clinical profile and paraclinical features of COPD in patients with BRs and to determine the impact of BRs on disease progression. METHODS: we conducted a retrospective study of 100 patients diagnosed with COPD and treated in the Department of Pneumology 4 at the Abderrahmane Mami Hospital between 2014 and 2018. Patients were divided into two groups: group 1: patients with COPD associated with BRs (n=50) and group 2: patients with COPD without BRs (n=50). Both groups were matched based on their epidemiological characteristics. RESULTS: all patients were male, with an average age of 65,9 years. Patients with COPD associated with BRs had a higher rate of ischemic heart disease (p=0.037), more severe breathlessness assessed using the modified Medical Resaerch Council (mMRC≥2) (p=0.02), more severe bronchial obstruction (p=0.005) and a higher prevalence of acute exacerbations (p<0.001) and hospitalizations (p=0.004). In a multivariate study, independent factors associated with BRs were severe bronchial obstruction (OR=9.16), frequent exacerbator phenotype (≥2 exacerbations per year) (OR=1.91) and isolation of germs by cytobacteriological examination of sputum (OR=4.99). CONCLUSION: COPD associated with BRs could thus be a phenotype distinct from COPD and correlated with a more reserved prognosis.