PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Felix C. Ringshausen AU - Andrés de Roux AU - Mathias W. Pletz AU - Franz-Christoph Bange AU - Hendrik Suhling AU - Tobias Welte AU - Jessica Rademacher TI - Predictors of lung function decline in stable non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis DP - 2014 Sep 01 TA - European Respiratory Journal PG - 4646 VI - 44 IP - Suppl 58 4099 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/4646.short 4100 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/4646.full SO - Eur Respir J2014 Sep 01; 44 AB - Background: Data on the long-term impact of baseline characteristics and different therapeutic regimes on lung function in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB) are limited.Objective: To identify predictors of an accelerated lung function decline in adult patients with NCFB.Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 106 subjects from our NCFB outpatient clinic with at least two pulmonary function tests available from stable disease between 1 Jan 2006 and 31 Dec 2012. Predictors of an annual forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) decline ≥30 ml were calculated by logistic regression.Results: Mean age was 46 years; 64% were female; mean FEV1 was 48% predicted. The overall median annual FEV1 change from baseline was 0.1% during a median follow-up period of approximately 2 years. The median number of exacerbations and hospitalizations were 3 and 1, respectively. Idiopathic was the most frequent etiology in 29%. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) was the most frequently isolated pathogen in 48% of subjects. Of those, 28% fulfilled criteria of chronic PA airway colonization. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age ≤46 years (3-fold), baseline FEV1 ≥50% predicted (11-fold), any PA detection (6-fold) and chronic PA airway colonization (4-fold) were the only variables independently increasing the chance of an annual FEV1 decline ≥30 ml. In contrast, the chronic use of nebulized antibiotics (aztreonam, colistin, gentamycin or tobramycin) significantly reduced this chance by 80%.Conclusion: In our cohort, younger individuals with non-severe pulmonary impairment and PA carry a particularly high risk of experiencing an accelerated lung function decline and may thus benefit from intensified care.