Frequency and patterns of bronchiectasis in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background: bronchiectasis is associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (copd) and is under diagnosed due to scarce availability of diagnostic tools like high resolution computed tomography (hrct). aim: to determine the frequency and pattern of bronchiectasis and pattern in copd patients and to determine the factors associated with its presence. methods: a cross-sectional survey was carried out and 131 diagnosed patients of copd were included. bronchiectasis was determined by high resolution ct scan. a structured proforma was used to record all variables of interest either related to severity of copd or associated with bronchiectasis. results: bronchiectasis was present in 66 (50.4%) patients of copd. out of all patients of copd,cylindrical type was present in 42.7% with more bilateral and lower lobe involvement. mean age,gender,history of pulmonary tuberculosis and exacerbations of copd were not found associated with presence of bronchiectasis while time elapsed since diagnosis,pack years of smoking and score on modified medical research council (mmrc) dyspnoea scale were significantly associated with development of bronchiectasis in copd patients. conclusion: it is concluded that frequency of bronchiectasis is quite high in pakistani patients of copd.