Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42038097›Full record

ReviewEuropean clinical respiratory journal2026

Narrative review: mucus plugging in chronic obstructive lung diseases and bronchiectasis.

Charlotte Schou, Tuuli Thomander, Hanna Hisinger-Mölkänen, Emma Genberg, Laura Mäkitalo, Hanna-Riikka Kreivi, Line Bjerrehave Nielsen, Witold Mazur, Paula Kauppi

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In one paragraph

Review in European clinical respiratory journal, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Charlotte SchouDepartment of Respiratory Diseases, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0944-134X
Tuuli ThomanderDepartment of Respiratory Diseases and Allergology, The Heart and Lung Center, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Hanna Hisinger-MölkänenDepartment of Allergology, Inflammation Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
Emma GenbergDepartment of Respiratory Diseases and Allergology, The Heart and Lung Center, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Laura MäkitaloDepartment of Respiratory Diseases and Allergology, The Heart and Lung Center, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Hanna-Riikka KreiviDepartment of Respiratory Diseases and Allergology, The Heart and Lung Center, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Line Bjerrehave NielsenDepartment of Respiratory Diseases, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark.
Witold MazurDepartment of Respiratory Diseases and Allergology, The Heart and Lung Center, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Paula KauppiDepartment of Respiratory Diseases and Allergology, The Heart and Lung Center, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Mucus plugging, complete intraluminal occlusions, is recurrently found in high-resolution computer tomography images in obstructive lung diseases and is increasingly recognized as clinically meaningful. Methods: A narrative review on pathophysiology, clinical consequences and treatment of mucus plugging. Results: In bronchiectasis, mucus hypersecretion and plug formation are associated with infections, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and non-tuberculosis mycobacteria and correlated to exacerbations. In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, mucus plugging is related to greater airflow obstruction, worse health status, higher exacerbation risk, and increased mortality. In asthma, mucus plugging is associated with severe asthma and poorer outcomes. Multiple scoring systems for mucus plugs in chest computed tomography (CT) have been introduced but definitions are heterogenous limiting comparability. Conclusions: Mucus plugs are measurable markers of disease activity with prognostic relevance across obstructive airway diseases. Clinical adoption is hindered by non‑standardized CT scoring and limited plug‑targeted trials. New treatment options for mucus plugging e.g. biologics in asthma have been found successful, especially dupilumab. Azithromycin as a part of prevention of infections in obstructive lung diseases is effective. Future research is needed to standardize and validate CT-based mucus-plug scoring systems that could be brought into clinical medicine.

Indexed as

asthmabronchiectasischronic obstructive airway diseasechronic obstructive pulmonary diseasemucusmucus pluggingplugSputum

Identifiers

PMID42038097
PMCPMC13103984

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.