Interesting new research from Brazil finds that in asymptomatic elderly never smokers, bronchiectasis may be a „normal“ finding in nearly 20% of cases.
19.1% of over-75’s undergoing an HRCT scan had radiological bronchiectasis compared to 0% of the younger cohort. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25731735
If confirmed in additional studies, this has important implications for interpretation of HRCT defined bronchiectasis in the elderly, particularly in association with diseases like COPD.