Bronchiectasis in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis: a case control study on clinical features and prognosis

Background Bronchiectasis was reported in 2%-40% of patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV), but there were no studies on the prevalence, risk factors and impact of AAV-associated bronchiectasis in Chinese patients. Research design and methods AAV patients were retrospectively enrolled. The clinical, laboratory and imaging features and the prognosis were analyzed and compared between those with and without bronchiectasis. Results Bronchiectasis was present in 48/212 (22.6%) of our AAV patients, among whom 41 were confirmed in 210 patients (19.5%) who received chest HRCT at the initial diagnosis of AAV. There were more women and fewer smokers in those with bronchiectasis as compared to those without. Cases with positive anti-MPO were more likely to have bronchiectasis (26.2%), and those with bronchiectasis were more likely to be anti-MPO positive (93.8%). Patients who had a diagnosis of bronchiectasis before AAV were more likely to have nervous system involvement, while patients without bronchiectasis had higher 24h proteinuria. The presence of bronchiectasis showed no significant effect on the 1, 3, 5-year survival. Conclusions Nearly 20% of patients showed bronchiectasis on chest HRCT at the initial diagnosis of AAV, and positivity of anti-MPO was associated with bronchiectasis in a Chinese cohort of AAV patients.