Demographic and clinical features of Swedish patients with bronchiectasis; preliminary results from a tertiary EMBARC centre.

<b>Background:</b> Bronchiectasis,&nbsp;a progressive chronic respiratory disease referring to abnormal and permanent bronchial dilatation, have clinical characteristics that may vary geographically, pointing out the importance of national registries. However, there is a lack of data about the characteristics of Swedish patients with bronchiectasis. <b>Aim:</b> To describe the first cohort of Swedish patients with bronchiectasis followed in a tertiary centre. <b>Methods:</b> Karolinska University Hospital is a part of the European Multicenter Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration (EMBARC). We have recruited patients with bronchiectasis in our outpatient clinic using EMBARC methodology and protocol. <b>Results:</b> The first 70 patients were recruited; median age 68 years (range 19-90), 68.6% females, 52.9% were ex-smokers, and 8.6 % were underweight (BMI&lt; 18.5). The main aetiology was post-infective (61.4%). Most (54.3 %) showed airway flow limitation (FEV1 &lt; 80% predicted), while 18.6 % reported dyspnoea (mMRC ≥2). Most patients had mucoid sputum (75%) followed by mucopurulent (17.6%) and purulent (7.4%). Pseudomonas aeruginosa (33.3%) and Haemophilus influenzae (24.2%) were mainly isolated among patients (33/65) with a positive sputum culture. Patients with Pseudomonas had significantly increased sputum production than those without organisms (p&lt; 0.01). <b>Conclusions:</b> This first report from the Swedish EMBARC cohort describes bronchiectasis patients with characteristics seen earlier in national cohorts from and outside Europe, justifying the value of the EMBARC registry and the establishment of the Swedish registry.