Phenotypes of Adult Bronchiectasis: Onset of Productive Cough in Childhood and Adulthood

• Published in: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Vol. 6; no. 2; pp. 130 - 136
• Main Authors: King, Paul T., Holdsworth, Stephen R., Farmer, Michael, Freezer, Nicholas, Villanueva, Elmer, Holmes, Peter W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Informa UK Ltd 2009; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age of Onset; bronchiectasis; Bronchiectasis - complications; Bronchiectasis - diagnostic imaging; Bronchiectasis - physiopathology; Child; Child, Preschool; Chronic Disease; Cohort Studies; Cough - epidemiology; Female; Forced Expiratory Volume; Humans; lung function; Male; Middle Aged; phenotypes; Risk Factors; Time Factors; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1541-2555; 1541-2563
• DOI: 10.1080/15412550902766934

Bronchiectasis is a heterogeneous disorder with a large number of etiologic factors. The main symptom is a chronic productive cough. The aim of this study was to describe the phenotypes of patients with bronchiectasis who had developed a chronic productive cough in childhood (before 16 years of age) compared with those who had developed a productive cough as adults. One hundred and eighty-two subjects with bronchiectasis diagnosed by computed tomography scanning were studied. Subjects all had a detailed clinical review and assessment of potential etiologic factors performed by the investigators. There were 107 (59%) subjects who developed a chronic productive cough in childhood and 75 (41%) subjects who developed a chronic productive cough in adulthood. There were significant differences in a number of parameters between the two groups including duration of cough, frequency of exacerbations, presence of rhinosinusitis, crackles on examination and lung function. The adult group could be further divided into those who had developed a cough whilst smoking and those who had no obvious relationship with smoking. In conclusion there were a number of significant differences between the child onset and adult onset group that may reflect different phenotypes of bronchiectasis.