Table 1. Basic characteristics of bronchiectasis patients.
| Parameter | Bronchiectasis patients (n=192) |
|---|---|
| Anthropometry | |
| Age (years) | 45.2±14.1 |
| Height (cm) | 160.0 (12.0) |
| Weight (kg) | 52.0 (12.4) |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 20.3 (4.3) |
| Females, n (%) | 115 (59.9) |
| Never-smokers, n (%) | 170 (88.5) |
| Disease characteristics | |
| Duration from onset of symptoms (years) | 10.0 (15.0) |
| No. of bronchiectatic lobes | 4.0 (3.0) |
| HRCT total score | 7.0 (6.0) |
| Bronchiectasis severity index | 5.0 (7.0) |
| FEV1% predicted | 69.1±23.9 |
| Family history of any respiratory disease, n (%) | 22 (11.5) |
| Family history of bronchiectasis, n (%) | 11 (5.7) |
| Bronchiectasis etiology, n (%) | |
| Idiopathic | 61 (31.8) |
| Post-infectious | 53 (27.6) |
| Immunodeficiency | 25 (13.0) |
| Asthma | 8 (4.2) |
| Gastroesophageal reflux | 6 (3.1) |
| Other known etiologies | 16 (8.3) |
| Sputum bacteriology, n (%) | |
| Pseudomonas aeruginosa | 63 (32.8) |
| Haemophilus parainfluenzae | 15 (7.8) |
| Haemophilus influenzae | 21 (10.9) |
| Other PPMs | 20 (10.4) |
| Commensals | 73 (38.0) |
Numerical data are presented as mean ± standard deviation for normal distribution or otherwise median (interquartile range). Categorical data are expressed as number (percentage). None of the patients was using inhaled or oral antibiotics at the time of the study. PPMs, the abbreviation for potentially pathogenic microorganisms. In our study, other PPMs are consisted of Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella spp. and other clinically significant bacteria (e.g., Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Escherichia coli, Sphingomonas paucimobilis, Alcaligenes faecalis subsp faecalis, Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes and Serratia marcescens). Other known etiologies included Kartagener syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, lung maldevelopment, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, Young’s syndrome, non-Tuberculous mycobacteria disease (n=1, Mycobacteria avium and Mycobacteria intracelluleae complex was detected on multiple occasions), yellow nail syndrome, aspergilloma, diffuse panbronchiolitis, and eosinophilic bronchiolitis. Cystic fibrosis was not routinely screened because of the extremely low prevalence in China according to the previous literature reports. In this study, bronchiectasis in the two patients with Kartagener syndrome was secondary to primary ciliary dyskinesia. FEV1, forced expiratory volume in one second.