Abstract Rationale Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a rare but serious complication in people with bronchiectasis. However, little is known about how often it occurs or what risk factors contribute to it in people with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB). Bronchiectasis causes ongoing airway inflammation, chronic infection, and lung damage, which may increase the risk of blood clots by causing inflammation and injuring blood vessels. Moreover, increased severity of bronchiectasis has been associated with an increased risk of vascular complications. Methods Data were obtained from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from 2016 to 2021. Adults (18 years or older) who were admitted with a primary diagnosis of bronchiectasis with acute exacerbation (J47.1) were included. Patients were then stratified into two groups: those with a secondary diagnosis of PE (I26.0-I26.9) and those without. Patients with a secondary diagnosis of cystic fibrosis (E84.0-E84.9) were excluded. The primary outcome was length of stay and in-hospital death. Results Of the 32,035 hospitalizations for NCFB between 2016 and 2021, 25 (0.08%) had a concurrent diagnosis of PE. Patients with PE were similar in age (67.8 vs. 69.0 years; P = 0.119) but had significantly longer hospital stays (10.8 vs. 5.3 days; P 0.001). No in-hospital deaths occurred in the PE group. Conclusion Pulmonary embolism complicates 0.08% of non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis hospitalizations, about 3.5 times higher than general incidence estimates (23 per 100,000), reflecting increased thrombotic risk in this acutely ill group. Although not linked to higher in-hospital mortality, PE doubled the length of stay, indicating greater morbidity and resource use. These findings highlight the need for focused VTE risk assessment and thromboprophylaxis in hospitalized bronchiectasis patients. This abstract is funded by: None
Arias et al. (Fri,) studied this question.