Predicting mortality in bronchiectasis using bronchiectasis severity index and FACED scores: a 19-year cohort study

Area of Science:

• Pulmonology
• Clinical Epidemiology

Background:

• The unpredictable clinical course of bronchiectasis presents challenges in patient management and research.
• Accurate mortality prediction is crucial for clinical decision-making and resource allocation in bronchiectasis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the long-term mortality prediction capabilities of the Bronchiectasis Severity Index (BSI) and FACED scores.
• To compare the predictive performance of the BSI and FACED scores for long-term survival in bronchiectasis.

Main Methods:

• A single-centre retrospective cohort study analyzed 74 patients with bronchiectasis, recruited in 1994.
• Bronchiectasis Severity Index (BSI) and FACED scores were calculated at baseline.
• Long-term mortality was ascertained over a median follow-up of 18.8 years.

Main Results:

• Both BSI and FACED scores showed similar predictive power for 5-year mortality (AUC 0.79 and 0.80, respectively).
• For 15-year mortality, the FACED score exhibited superior predictive ability (AUC 0.82) compared to the BSI score (AUC 0.69, p=0.0495).

Conclusions:

• The BSI and FACED scores are validated tools for predicting mortality in bronchiectasis over extended follow-up periods.
• The FACED score demonstrates superior performance in predicting 15-year mortality in this patient cohort.