Extract
We read with great interest the article by Dhar et al. [1] which, based on data from EMBARC/Respiratory Research Network, thoroughly investigated the clinical outcomes of bronchiectasis in India. The authors have identified important predictors of poor clinical outcomes, some of which represented critical therapeutic targets because these may represent treatable or preventable traits. For instance, identification of the frequent exacerbators who would benefit from intensified airway clearance, macrolide therapy and pulmonary rehabilitation may result in an improved clinical outcome. Their work may also shed light on refining the management strategy for patients with bronchiectasis in many low- and middle-income countries globally. In spite of these promising findings, there are some concerns that merit further discussion.
Abstract
There are queries regarding data from EMBARC-India due to an imbalance of patient baseline characteristics, confounded by different clinical statuses, other co-existing chronic respiratory diseases and the rate of inhaled corticosteroid use http://bit.ly/3X3CxzN
Footnotes
Conflict of interest: The authors declared no conflict of interest with any financial organisation regarding the material discussed in the manuscript.
Support statement: This work was primarily supported by the National Natural Science Foundation – Outstanding Youth Fund (number 82222001), National Natural Science Foundation (number 81870003), Guangdong Natural Science Foundation (number 2019A1515011634), and Zhongnanshan Medical Foundation of Guangdong Province (number ZNSA-2020013) (to Wei-jie Guan).
- Received November 1, 2022.
- Accepted November 12, 2022.
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