A deep learning algorithm successfully predicted the prognosis of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from chest radiographs, and was superior to conventional pulmonary function tes... Background Preexisting indexes for predicting the prognosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) do not use radiologic information and are impractical because they involve complex histor...

Introduction: Mortality differences in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) between nonsmokers and smokers remain unclear. We compared the risk of death associated with smoking and COPD on mortality. Methods: The study included participants aged ≥ 40 years who visited pulmonary clinics and were categorised into COPD or non-COPD and smoker or nonsmoker on the basis of spirometry results and cigarette consumption. Mortality rates were compared between groups using statistical analysis for all-cause mortality, respiratory disease-related mortality, and cardiocerebrovascular disease-related mortality. Results: Among 5811 participants, smokers with COPD had a higher risk of all-cause (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR), 1.69; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.23– 2.33) and respiratory disease-related mortality (aHR, 2.14; 95% CI, 1.20– 3.79) than nonsmokers with COPD. Non-smokers with and without COPD had comparable risks of all-cause mortality (aHR, 1.39; 95% CI, 0.98– 1.97) and respiratory disease-related mortality (aHR, 1.77; 95% CI, 0.85– 3.68). However, nonsmokers with COPD had a higher risk of cardiocerebrovascular disease-related mortality than nonsmokers without COPD (aHR, 2.25; 95% CI, 1.15– 4.40). Conclusion: The study found that smokers with COPD had higher risks of all-cause mortality and respiratory disease-related mortality compared to nonsmokers with and without COPD. Meanwhile, nonsmokers with COPD showed comparable risks of all-cause and respiratory mortality but had a higher risk of cardiocerebrovascular disease-related mortality compared to nonsmokers without COPD.

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolation in bronchiectasis is associated with a poor prognosis, including increased hospital admissions, exacerbation, and mortality. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of P. aeruginosa isolation from patients with bronchiectasis in South Korea. Methods: This multicenter prospective cohort study analyzed 936 patients with bronchiectasis. We examined the prevalence of P. aeruginosa isolates and other microbiological characteristics. Additionally, the clinical characteristics related to disease severity and 1-year prognosis were compared between patients with and without P. aeruginosa isolation. Propensity score matching was used to mitigate confounding biases. Results: Of the 936 patients with bronchiectasis, P. aeruginosa was isolated from 89. A total of 445 matched patients—356 patients without (non-Pseudomonas group) and 89 with (Pseudomonas group) P. aeruginosa isolation—were analyzed. The Pseudomonas group showed poorer lung function, greater involvement of radiographic bronchiectasis, and a higher proportion of cystic bronchiectasis than the non-Pseudomonas group. After one year, more patients in the Pseudomonas group were admitted for bronchiectasis than in the non-Pseudomonas group. Moreover, the Bronchiectasis Health Questionnaire scores were significantly lower in the Pseudomonas group than in the non-Pseudomonas group. Conclusions: The isolation of P. aeruginosa was independently associated with increased disease severity and poor clinical outcomes in Korean patients with bronchiectasis.

Lee YJ, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2017 Nov;33(2):e15. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2018.33.e15

Gu KM, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2021 Jul;36(31):e202. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2021.36.e202

Kang HR, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2021 Jan;36(5):e29. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2021.36.e29