Co-occurrence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Bronchiectasis: Is it a New Phenotype of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Bronchiectasis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) share many pathophysiological, clinical and spirometric characteristics. Along with the increasing and widespread use of high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scanning, bronchiectasis has become more detectable in patients presenting with chronic cough and shortness of breath. Identification of different phenotypes of COPD is important in terms of both therapeutic options and clinical outcomes of the disease. Co-occurrence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchiectasis might be a different phenotype with more severe COPD and poorer prognosis. Many authors observed high prevalence of bronchiectasis in COPD patients showing association with increased inflammation, more severe and longer exacerbations, higher colonization of bronchial mucosa with potential pathogenic bacteria, and, the most important, with poorer prognosis.