Background: Sputum colour is a useful clinical tool in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (BE) (Murray et al. 2009), but its ability to capture the quality of life (QoL) has barely been explored. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the relationship between sputum colour and QoL in BE patients colonized by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA).

Methods: In this cross-sectional observational study, sputum colour was recorded following Murray?s scale, and QoL was evaluated by the Quality of Life Questionnaire-Bronchiectasis v3.1 (QOL-B) (Quittner et al. 2015). Fisher's exact test and Kruskal-Wallis were used in the univariate analysis, whilst ordinal logistic regression was applied in the multivariate.

Results: 57 patients were included; 23 women, 67,53±16,96 years. Purulent sputum showed significantly worse QoL in 3 domains compared to those mucopurulent (Table 1, Fig.1). Further, sputum colour and culture were significantly associated (mixed flora vs. non-mucoid PA vs. mucoid PA vs. other pathogenic microorganisms, p=0,04). No significant differences were found based on gender, disease phase (acute vs. stable), BSI, years of PA colonization, and lung function. These results were kept when considering sputum colour and culture concurrently.

Conclusions: Sputum colour is a validated and simple tool that could be useful in BE to quickly identify vulnerable patients with a worsening of QoL, regardless of the phase of the disease.