Extract
We read with great interest the paper by Aliberti et al. [1] on the utility of sputum colour assessment in bronchiectasis. Through this large-scale analysis of the EMBARC (European Multicentre Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration) registry and a four-category sputum colour chart, the authors demonstrate that sputum purulence is strongly associated with disease severity, bacterial infection and poor clinical outcomes, including exacerbations, hospitalisations and mortality. This study emphasises the importance of this simple, non-invasive biomarker in identifying high-risk patients and guiding management decisions. In this correspondence, we provide two beneficial suggestions for future registry development.
Shareable abstract
Expansion of sputum data categorisation in future bronchiectasis registries may lead to appropriate assessment of exacerbations and identification of severe phenotypes https://bit.ly/3JElUFh
Footnotes
Author contributions: H. Ishikawa takes responsibility for the paper as a whole. S. Yamamoto drafted the manuscript and H. Ishikawa supervised. K. Takeda, M. Kawashima and H. Ishikawa provided the epidemiological support. All authors contributed substantially to its revision. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors.
Conflict of interest: S. Yamamoto has received overseas scholarships from the Japan Society for Promotion of Science. This organisation has no role in writing this article. H. Ishikawa received payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, manuscript writing or educational events from Terumo Corporation, Stryker Japan, Boston Scientific Japan and PIOLAX. These companies have no role in writing this article. H. Ishikawa has a leadership role as an unpaid committee member of the Hemoptysis Guideline Committee of the Japan Society for Respiratory Endoscopy. The remaining authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.
- Received April 18, 2024.
- Accepted April 23, 2024.
- Copyright ©The authors 2024. For reproduction rights and permissions contact permissions{at}ersnet.org
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