{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T19:09:07Z","timestamp":1792004947743,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,21]],"date-time":"2024-08-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1724198400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Bronchiectasis (BE) has been traditionally associated with neutrophilic inflammation, but eosinophilic bronchiectasis (EB) has recently emerged. Data about prevalence, clinical features, and disease severity are lacking. This study aimed to assess the EB prevalence, compare EB with non-EB, evaluate the Type-2 (T2) high endotype in BE (T2-high EB) versus non-T2-high EB, and identify EB predictors. Methods: We conducted a prospective study involving 153 BE patients. The data collected included clinical, radiological, and microbiological findings. BE severity was assessed using the bronchiectasis severity index (BSI), FACED and E-FACED scores, and the bronchiectasis etiology and comorbidity index (BACI). EB was defined as a blood eosinophil count (BEC) \u2265 300 cells\/\u03bcL, and T2-high EB as BEC \u2265 300 cells\/\u03bcL with fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) \u2265 25 ppb. Results: Prevalence was 27% for EB and 20% for T2-high EB. EB patients exhibited poorer lung function and more severe radiologic features, with significantly higher severity scores [BSI, FACED, E-FACED, BACI (p &lt; 0.05)], and a higher median exacerbation rate [4 (2\u20135) in EB vs. 2 (1\u20134) in non-EB, p = 0.0002], compared with non-EB patients. T2-high EB patients showed higher severity scores [BSI, FACED, E-FACED (p &lt; 0.05)], as well as worse lung function parameters [FEV1%, FVC%, FEF 25\u201375% (p &lt; 0.05)] compared with non-T2-high EB patients. In our study, patients with EB exhibited notably worsened lung function and higher BE severity scores compared with their non-EB counterparts, with exacerbations playing a major role in these differences. We found statistically significant positive correlations between BEC and disease severity scores, such as BSI, FACED, and mMRC, as well as an inverse relationship with pulmonary function. The likelihood of EB being present was significantly higher in association with mMRC \u2265 1 (OR = 2.53; 95% CI, 1.26\u20135.64), exacerbations\/year \u2265 1 (OR = 1.27; 95% CI, 1.0\u20131.63), and chronic PA colonization (OR = 3.9; 95% CI, 1.08\u201315.8). Conclusions: EB is a distinct endotype. Dyspnea, exacerbations, and PA colonization may be predictive of EB, emphasizing the importance of early detection for improved outcomes. BEC could serve as a useful biomarker of disease severity to consider when diagnosing EB.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm13164932","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,22]],"date-time":"2024-08-22T11:14:41Z","timestamp":1724325281000},"page":"4932","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":19,"title":["Eosinophilic Bronchiectasis: Prevalence, Severity, and Associated Features\u2014A Cohort Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9305-6748","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Raffaele","family":"Campisi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Respiratory Medicine Unit, Policlinico \u201cG. Rodolico-San Marco\u201d University Hospital, 95123 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3995-7662","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Santi","family":"Nolasco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Respiratory Medicine Unit, Policlinico \u201cG. Rodolico-San Marco\u201d University Hospital, 95123 Catania, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Manuel","family":"Mancuso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Miriam","family":"Spinella","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fabio","family":"Vignera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nunzio","family":"Crimi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5120-9926","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carlo","family":"Vancheri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Respiratory Medicine Unit, Policlinico \u201cG. Rodolico-San Marco\u201d University Hospital, 95123 Catania, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9088-5214","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Claudia","family":"Crimi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Respiratory Medicine Unit, Policlinico \u201cG. Rodolico-San Marco\u201d University Hospital, 95123 Catania, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1700629","DOI":"10.1183\/13993003.00629-2017","article-title":"European Respiratory Society guidelines for the management of adult bronchiectasis","volume":"50","author":"Polverino","year":"2017","journal-title":"Eur. Respir. 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