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A prior prospective, multicenter, observational study of 201 individuals with moderate-to-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2013;187:823) found that bronchiectasis (BE), as noted on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scan of the chest, was significantly and independently associated with increased mortality at a median follow-up of 102 months. However, whether BE impacts further progression of lung disease and whether there are risk factors associated with BE progression are not known.
To answer these questions, 77 patients from the same study were available to receive a second HRCT scan of the chest after about 8 years of follow-up.
Among this group, 36% had stable BE, 27% never developed BE…