Bronchial Hyperreactivity in Non-Cystic Fibrosis Bronchiectasis

Aim: Bronchiectasis is an abnormal dilatation of bronchi and bronchioles due to repeated cycles of airway infection and inflammation. There is a limited data that support the existence of bronchial hyperreactivity (BHR) in bronchiectasis. In the present study we investigated the existence of BHR and possible factors that could affect the BHR in bronchiectasis patients. Matherial and Method: Study performed in bronchiectasis outpatient clinic. We included 69 patients in which the diagnosis of bronchiectasis was made by high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT). Patients with cystic fibrosis, immune deficiency and asthma were excluded. We evaluated the relationship between the results of bronchial provocation test (BPT) and gender, duration of disease, smoking history, lung function tests, degree of radiologic distribution, type of bronciectasis, existence of bacterial colonisation and atopy. Results: We found that, bronchial hyperreactivity was detected in a much smaller proportion (29%) of patients with the diagnosis of bronchiectasis than the existing literature. Female gender and low FEV1 value were found to be important two factors to influence the development of bronchial hyperreactivity (p<0.05). Discussion: In conclusion, female gender and the degree of bronchial obstruction seem to be important two factors to influence the development of bronchial hyperreactivity in patients with bronchiectasis.