Association between inflammatory markers in induced sputum and clinical characteristics in children with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis

To study clinical, radiological and laboratory features of children with non‐cystic fibrosis (non‐CF) bronchiectasis (BE) and the association between symptom scores, spirometry, high‐resolution computed tomography (HRCT) findings and inflammatory markers in induced sputum in these children. Twenty‐seven children with steady‐state non‐CF BE were cross‐sectionally evaluated by symptom scores, pulmonary function tests, anatomic extension and severity scores of BE in HRCT and tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) and interleukin‐8 (IL‐8) levels in induced sputum. There were 16 girls and 11 boys. Median (interquartile range) age of study group was 11.4 (9.5–13.6) years, follow‐up duration was 3.5 (2–6.5) years and symptom scores were 4 (3–6). Pulmonary function tests revealed FEV1 of 82%pred (72–93), FVC of 82%pred (74–92), and FEF25–75% of 82%pred (68–95). According to anatomic extent of BE on HRCT; 2 patients had mild, 4 had moderate and 21 had severe BE. Based on severity scores of HRCT; 10 patients had mild, 10 had moderate and 7 had severe BE. Neutrophils consisted 29.9% (14.9–53.7) of the total leucocytes in induced sputum samples. Sputum concentration of TNF‐α was 58 pg/ml (9.2–302) while IL‐8 concentration was 2.7 ng/ml (1.7–2.8). Symptom scores correlated with FEV1 and sputum IL‐8 levels (r = −0.49, r = 0.67, P