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Abstract
Objective: The objective of this study was to distinguish the key etiologic factors causing bronchiectasis in children and to determine which of these are correlated with demographic, familial and clinical variables.
Study Duration and Setting: The study was conducted over six months in the Department of Pediatric Medicine, People’s Medical University, Nawab shah.
Methods: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted in 159 children aged 1–15 years old with persistent bronchiectasis for more than three months. A structured questionnaire capturing demographic, clinical and regional variables was used to collect data including ag, gender, place of residence, family income, duration of disease, preexisting respiratory infections, cystic fibrosis, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) and pulmonary tuberculosis. Associations were assessed via SPSS version 26.0 using chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests and statistical analysis was subsequently performed. Statistical significance was taken to be p-value <0.05.
Results: The most common etiological factor was preexisting respiratory infections in 59.7% of participants, followed by cystic fibrosis (52.2%), pulmonary tuberculosis (50.3%) and ABPA (50.9%). There were significant differences in the frequency of pre- existing respiratory infections between males (p = 0.021). The incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis was higher for those who lived in rural areas (p=0.034), as was COPD (p=0.003) while low family income increased the incidence of ABPA (p=0.046). Less than 25 kg children were more likely to have preexisting respiratory infections (p=0.041).
Conclusion: These findings show the multifactorial etiology of bronchiectasis in children, based on infections, predisposing genes, the socioeconomic and nutrition status. Reduction of the disease burden requires early diagnosis, genetic screening and targeted intervention in underserved populations. Significant improvements to outcomes can be achieved from multidisciplinary approaches to clinical and environmental factors.