- Published
- 13 November 2023
- Journal article
Effect of COVID-19 on Bronchiectasis Exacerbation Rates: A Retrospective US Insurance Claims Study
- Authors
- Source
- Annals of the American Thoracic Society
Abstract
Rationale: Bronchiectasis is a chronic, progressive disease of bronchial dilation, inflammation, and scarring leading to impaired mucociliary clearance and increased susceptibility to infection. Identified causes include previous severe respiratory infections. A small, single-center UK study demonstrated a reduction in bronchiectasis exacerbations during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. No studies have been conducted in a US (commercially insured) cohort to date. Objective: To explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the frequency of exacerbations in a large cohort of commercially insured US patients with bronchiectasis by testing the hypothesis that US patients with bronchiectasis had fewer exacerbations during the pandemic. Methods: This retrospective observational cohort study used health insurance claims data from Optum’s deidentified Clinformatics® Data Mart Database, which included US patients and their covered dependents. Eligible patients were aged 18 years with bronchiectasis; patients with other respiratory conditions were excluded. The main study cohort excluded patients with frequent asthma and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease diagnoses. The primary objective was to compare the bronchiectasis exacerbation rate prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The median number of exacerbations per patient per year decreased significantly from the year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to the first year of the pandemic (1 vs. 0, P < 0.01). More patients had zero exacerbations during the first year of the pandemic than the year prior (57% vs. 24%, McNemar’s chi-squared = 122.56, P <0.01). Conclusions: In a U.S. population-based study of patients with ICD codes for bronchiectasis, the rate of exacerbations during year 1 of the COVID-19 pandemic was reduced compared with the 2-year time period preceding the pandemic. Primary Source of Funding (if any): AstraZeneca (Cambridge, UK).
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Cite as
Astrand, A., Kiddle, S., Siva Ganesh Mudedla, R., Porwal, S., Chafekar, K., Agrawal, S., Seminario, C., Chalmers, J. & Psallidas, I. 2023, 'Effect of COVID-19 on Bronchiectasis Exacerbation Rates: A Retrospective US Insurance Claims Study', Annals of the American Thoracic Society. https://doi.org/10.1513/AnnalsATS.202211-944OC