@article {Phua00334-2021, author = {Hwee Pin Phua and Wei-Yen Lim and Ganga Ganesan and Joanne Yoong and Kelvin Bryan Tan and John Arputhan Abisheganaden and Albert Yick Hou Lim}, title = {Epidemiology and economic burden of bronchiectasis requiring hospitalisation in Singapore}, elocation-id = {00334-2021}, year = {2021}, doi = {10.1183/23120541.00334-2021}, publisher = {European Respiratory Society}, abstract = {Background and objective Little is known about the epidemiology and cost of bronchiectasis in Asia. This study describes the disease burden of bronchiectasis in Singapore.Methods A nationwide administrative dataset was used to identify hospitalisations with bronchiectasis as a diagnosis. Population statistics and medical encounter data were used to estimate the incidence, mortality, prevalence and direct medical costs associated with hospitalisation-requiring bronchiectasis.Results There were 420 incident hospitalised bronchiectasis patients in 2017, giving an incidence rate of 10.6/100 000. Age-standardised incidence declined on average by 2.7\% per year between 2007 and 2017. Incidence rates increased strongly with age in both men and women. Tuberculosis was a secondary diagnosis in 37.5\% of incident hospitalisations in 2007, but has declined sharply since then. Patient survival was considerably lower in both men (5-year Relative Survival Ratios (RSR) of 0.63 (95\% CI, 0.59 to 0.66)) and women ((5-year RSR of 0.75 (95\% CI, 0.72 to 0.78)). The point prevalence of bronchiectasis was 147.1/100,000 in 2017, and increased sharply with age, with more than 1\% of people aged 75 years and older having bronchiectasis. Total first-year costs among incident bronchiectasis patients in 2016 varied widely, with an average of $7331 (standard deviation of $8863). About 10\% of the patients admitted in 2016 had total first-year costs of more than $14 380.Conclusion Bronchiectasis is common and imposes a substantial burden on health care costs and survival rates of patients in Singapore.FootnotesThis manuscript has recently been accepted for publication in the ERJ Open Research. It is published here in its accepted form prior to copyediting and typesetting by our production team. After these production processes are complete and the authors have approved the resulting proofs, the article will move to the latest issue of the ERJOR online. Please open or download the PDF to view this article.Conflict of interest: Hwee Pin Phua has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Wei-Yen Lim has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Ganga Ganesan has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Joanne Yoong has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Kelvin Bryan Tan has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: John Arputhan Abisheganaden has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Albert Yick Hou Lim has nothing to disclose.}, URL = {https://openres.ersjournals.com/content/early/2021/07/22/23120541.00334-2021}, eprint = {https://openres.ersjournals.com/content/early/2021/07/22/23120541.00334-2021.full.pdf}, journal = {ERJ Open Research} }