Sputum purulence-associated microbial community compositions in adults with bronchiectasis.

Bronchiectasis is a debilitating chronic inflammatory airway disease which arises from multiple etiologies. The interplay among the etiology, altered microenvironment and defective host-defense may have predisposed to recurrent chest infections of pathogens (1,2) that correlate with bronchiectasis exacerbations and increased mortality.