PROFILE OF CLINICAL AND ANALYTICAL PARAMETERS IN BRONCHIECTASIS PATIENTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A ONE-YEAR FOLLOW-UP STUDY.

<b>Background:</b> Bronchiectasis patients experience acute exacerbations frequently. Whether the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected the number of exacerbations in bronchiectasis patients remains to be elucidated. We hypothesized that the number of exacerbations and lung function may have deteriorated in bronchiectasis patients during the pandemic at one-year follow-up. <b>Methods:</b> In mild-to-moderate bronchiectasis patients (n=30, 23 females, 66 years old), lung function testing, disease severity, number of exacerbations, radiological extension, body composition, sputum microbiology, and blood analytical biomarkers were determined at baseline and after one-year follow-up. <b>Results:</b> Compared to baseline (n=27, 3 patients dropped-out), in bronchiectasis patients, a significant increase in FACED, EFACED, number of exacerbations, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was observed, while FEV1, hemoglobulin, platelets, ceruloplasmin, IgE, IgG, IgG aspergillus, IgM, and IgA significantly decreased. The proportions of patients presenting colonization by pseudomonas aeruginosa remained unchanged (27%) at&nbsp;one-year follow-up. <b>Conclusions:</b> During the COVID-19 pandemic, in mild-to-moderate bronchiectasis patients, an increase in airflow limitation, disease severity scores, ESR, and in the number of exacerbations was observed only at one-year follow-up without a change in the sputum microbiology. These results have direct clinical implications in the management of bronchiectasis patients. The decline in all the target immunoglobulins also warrants further attention in future investigations. <b>Funding:</b> FIS 21/00215 (FEDER, ISC-III), Intensificación INT 19, CIBERES, SEPAR 2020