Rationale: Bronchiectasis is still underdiagnosed but receiving increasing attention lately. It is necessary to assess the resource requirements for the treatment.

Objectives: To evaluate the healthcare utilization and costs in patients with bronchiectasis compared to matched cohorts of patients with asthma and COPD.

Methods: The study included 891 patients with bronchiectasis identified from administrative databases of Lombardy (Italy). They were matched 1:1:1 to patients with COPD and asthma. Total and specific healthcare costs were assessed from the amount that the Regional Health Authority reimbursed to health providers for healthcare services during the year following the diagnosis and expressed in mean euros yearly spent per patient.

Main results: Mean (and corresponding standard deviation) healthcare costs in Euros per patient during the year following the diagnosis of bronchiectasis, asthma and COPD are reported in Table1.

Conclusions: The annual direct healthcare costs in the year after diagnosis in a cohort of 891 patients with bronchiectasis are more than double those of a matched cohort of patients with asthma, while are 40% less than a matched cohort with COPD. The leading expense items regarding healthcare utilization and drug dispensation were hospitalizations and antibiotics.

Table1: