The impact of bronchiectasis and its severity on long-term renal outcomes.

While bronchiectasis is associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes, data regarding its impact on long-term renal outcomes is lacking.We reviewed bronchiectasis patients followed up at Queen Mary Hospital in 2017 and examined their clinical/renal outcomes in the subsequent five years. The relationships between the severity of bronchiectasis as defined by FACED (FEV1, Age, Chronic colonisation, Extension, Dyspnoea) scores and adverse renal outcomes were evaluated.A total of 315 bronchiectasis patients were included. Seventy-five patients (23.8%) showed renal progression. Baseline FACED score showed a positive correlation with renal progression over 5 years of follow-up (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.30 (95% CI 1.083-1.559, P = 0.005). Patients with moderate-to-severe bronchiectasis (FACED score ≥3) showed an increased risk of renal progression (aOR 1.833, 95% CI 1.082-3.106; P = 0.024) and more rapid decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate than those with mild disease (-4.77 ± 4.19 mL/min/1.73 m²/year vs. -3.49 ± 3.94 mL/min/1.73 m²/year; P = 0.006). Patients who developed renal progression had a higher risk of death (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 3.056, 95% CI 1.505-6.206; P = 0.002) and subsequent rates of hospitalisation (1.56 ± 2.81 episodes/year vs. 0.60 ± 1.18 episodes/year; P < 0.001) compared to those without renal progression.Progressive renal function deterioration is prevalent among bronchiectasis patients, and the severity of bronchiectasis is a robust predictor of renal progression..

Validation of diagnostic coding for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in an electronic health record system in Hong Kong.

INTRODUCTION: Electronic health record databases can facilitate epidemiology research regarding diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a common medical condition worldwide. We aimed to assess the validity of International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision (ICD-9) code algorithms for identifying COPD in Hong Kong's territory-wide electronic health record system, the Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System (CDARS). METHODS: Adult patients diagnosed with COPD at all public hospitals in Hong Kong and specifically at Queen Mary Hospital from 2011 to 2020 were identified using the ICD-9 code 496 (Chronic airway obstruction, not elsewhere classified) within the CDARS. Two respiratory specialists reviewed clinical records and spirometry results to confirm the presence of COPD in a randomly selected group of cases. RESULTS: During the study period, 93 971 and 2479 patients had the diagnostic code for COPD at all public hospitals in Hong Kong and specifically at Queen Mary Hospital, respectively. Two hundred cases were randomly selected from Queen Mary Hospital for validation using medical records and spirometry results. The overall positive predictive value was 81.5% (95% confidence interval=76.1%-86.9%). We also developed an algorithm to identify COPD cases in our cohort. CONCLUSION: This study represents the first validation of ICD-9 coding for COPD in the CDARS. Our findings demonstrated that the ICD-9 code 496 is a reliable indicator for identifying COPD cases, supporting the use of the CDARS database for further clinical research concerning COPD.

Risk of hospitalised bronchiectasis exacerbation based on blood eosinophil counts.

SETTING: There has been growing recognition on the importance of phenotyping of airway diseases. The eosinophilic phenotype was proposed in bronchiectasis; however, there has not been any evidence on its association with the risk of hospitalised bronchiectasis exacerbations.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between baseline blood eosinophil count (BEC) and bronchiectasis exacerbations requiring hospitalisation with validation by an independent cohort.DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort study.RESULTS: Over a 24-month period, 37/318 (11.6%) study participants experienced an exacerbation requiring hospitalisation. The mean baseline serum eosinophil was 135 ± 92 cells/µL in those who had exacerbations, and 188 ± 161 cells/µL in those who did not. A serum eosinophil level of 250 cells/µL at stable state was the most significant cut-off for predicting hospitalised bronchiectasis exacerbation, which was validated by the independent cohort.CONCLUSIONS: Patients with BEC below 250 cells/µL at stable state are at increased risk of having hospitalised bronchiectasis exacerbations.

Herpetic shoulder paresis in a Chinese elderly patient.

A patient with left shoulder girdle weakness secondary to herpetic myotomal paresis is reported. Needle electromyography revealed denervational discharge from the left supraspinatus, deltoid, and brachioradialis muscles, compatible with a radiculopathy that was relevant to his myotomes affected by zoster infection. The patient was managed with range-of-movement and strengthening exercises as well as pain relief for post-herpetic neuralgia. Further studies are required to determine whether antiviral treatment can limit the extent of motor deficit and hasten recovery. Zoster paresis should be one of the differential diagnoses of girdle muscle weakness.