Association between viscoelastic characteristics and sputum colour in patients with bronchiectasis

Abstract

In this study, we have described for the first time an association between the SCC and the viscoelastic characteristics of sputum in bronchiectasis. Although rheology has been suggested as a useful differential biomarker in muco-obstructive lung diseases the need of an especial equipment and technical formation may difficult its implementation; so, it is therefore key to find strategies to correlate rheology measures to easier clinical assessments. The results of our study are on this line because we have found an association between viscoelastic properties and the SCC, which is a fast, cheap, and validated tool that have already been included in the daily clinical practice. SCC has been described as a useful and easily biomarker that could detect the presence of inflammatory cells in the airway, and now could be also associated to the rheology of the sputum. Our findings hypothesize that patients with purulent colour, which have higher viscoelastic values, may benefit from physiotherapy strategies to fluidize sputum,15 but further research is needed.