Changes of QoL-B in bronchiectasis patients undergoing an outpatient intravenous antibiotic therapy; preliminary results from a tertiary European Multicenter Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration (EMBARC) centre.

<b>Introduction:</b> Bronchiectasis (B) patients are often hospitalized for infections needing intravenous (IV) antibiotic treatment, which affects quality of life (QoL). Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) allows IV administration at home. Still, is unclear how OPAT affects QoL. <b>Aim:</b> To evaluate how OPAT affects B-specific QoL (QoL-B) in patients who have undergone OPAT. <b>Methods:</b> We invite bronchiectasis patients,(from EMBARC) from our outpatient clinic with sputum-verified infection and a clinical decision for an OPAT therapy due to infection. Clinical and epidemiological data were collected. Patients filled CAT (COPD Assessment Test) and QoL-B at the start and end of the OPAT (14 days). <b>Results:</b> Twelve patients (mean age 58 years, 58% females) were studied. The dominant isolated bacteria was P. Aeruginosa 67%, followed by H. Influenzae, Stenotrophomonas M, and Moraxella C. Patients had higher scores in six domains after OPA, while one was stable and one decreased However, only Physical (p=0.0039), health perception (p=0.0039), and resp. symptoms (p=0.0068) reached significance (Wilcoxon test), with only resp. symptoms correlating with CAT both before (p= 0.011) and after (p=0.0392),(n=9, spearman r). <b>Conclusions:</b> Our data suggest that OPAT increases most QoL-B scales, especially those addressing the disease9s physical impact, arguing for its clinical use.