Bronchiectasis in Türkiye: Data from a Multicenter Registry (Turkish Adult Bronchiectasis Database)

Background: Bronchiectasis is a chronic lung disease characterized by permanent bronchial wall dilatation.Although it has been known as an orphan disease, it has recently gained attention because of registry-based studies and drug research.Aims: We aimed to use a multicenter database to analyze and compare data regarding the etiology, associated comorbidities, microbiological characteristics, and preventive strategies of bronchiectasis in Türkiye to those of other countries.Study Design: A multicenter prospective cohort study.Methods: The multicenter, prospective cohort study was conducted between March 2019 and January 2022 using the Turkish Adult Bronchiectasis Database, in which 25 centers in Türkiye participated.Patients aged > 18 years who presented with respiratory symptoms such as cough, sputum, and dyspnea and were diagnosed with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis using computed tomography were included in the study.Demographic information, etiologies, comorbidities, pulmonary functions, and microbiological, radiological, and clinical data were collected from the patients. Results:Of the 1,035 study participants, 518 (50%) were females.The mean age of the patients was 56.1 ± 16.1 years.The underlying etiology was detected in 565 (54.6%) patients.While postinfectious origin was the most common cause of bronchiectasis (39.5%), tuberculosis was identified in 11.3% of the patients.An additional comorbidity was detected in 688 (66.5%) patients.The most common comorbidity was cardiovascular disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bronchiectasis was identified in 19.5% of the patients.The most commonly detected microbiological agent was Pseudomonas aeruginosa (29.4%).Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) were used in 70.1% of the patients, and the frequency of exacerbations in the last year was significantly higher in patients using ICS than in nonusers (p < 0.0001).