Predictors of Physical Activity Performance and Dynamic Hyperinflation in Patients With Bronchiectasis

Bronchiectasis is characterized by abnormal and irreversible airway dilation and can be caused by a wide variety of diseases, including congenital diseases, mechanical bronchial obstruction, respiratory infections, and immunodeficiencies. It is a chronic condition with varying severity. Although some patients remain stable for years, the natural history of the disease is progressive deterioration of lung function, Regarding pulmonary function in this group of patients, there are several changes. In a study of 304 patients with bronchiectasis, spirometry was performed in 274 patients. Most of these patients (46.7%) had an obstructive ventilatory disorder, a small percentage of patients (8%) had restrictive disorder and a portion of patients (23.7%) had mixed disorder. The remaining patients (21.5%) had normal spirometry. Dyspnea in this situation occurs due to neuromechanical dissociation, that is, the respiratory drive is increased, but the inspiratory muscles show a reduction in their ability to produce effective ventilation. Besides not knowing if dynamic hyperinflation (DH) is present in patients with bronchiectasis, the mechanism responsible for its onset is also unknown. Exercise capacity is reduced in many patients with bronchiectasis, but there is little information about the exercise response in this population. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of dynamic hyperinflation in patients with bronchiectasis