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To better characterize patients who suffer from adult non–cystic fibrosis–associated bronchiectasis, investigators in 13 clinical sites in the U.S. created the Bronchiectasis Research Registry. During a 6-year period, 1826 patients were enrolled, 63% of whom had nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) infections.
Most patients were women (79%), and three quarters were diagnosed between the ages of 50 and 79. Most patients (73%) had daily bouts of coughing, although not always productive; dyspnea and fatigue also were common. Spirometry revealed obstruction, usually mild to moderate, in 51% of patients and suggested restriction in about 20%. Although sputum cultures from almost all patients grew organisms at some point, pseudomonas was the most co…