The pathophysiology of bronchiectasis is currently interpreted in terms of two main processes: bronchial inflammation (predominantly neutrophilic, but also with a known mononuclear and sometimes eosinophilic component) and bronchial infection due to pathogenic microorganisms. The latter is usually the primary factor driving airway inflammation and can temporarily intensify acute conditions (exacerbations) or even become chronic, causing a parallel increase in airway inflammation and, consequently, a chronic worsening of a patient's symptoms. Chronic infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) and severe exacerbations have a significant impact on clinical outcomes and constitute a specific bronchiectasis phenotype. These events occur at the pulmonary level and are related to a local response. However, regardless of the systemic nature of some diseases that cause, or are associated with, bronchiectasis, it may also have clear systemic repercussions.1 Systemic inflammation in bronchiectasis has been recently evaluated in several studies, which have demonstrated an increase in the peripheral levels of mediators and cells associated with a pro-inflammatory state, oxidative stress and various nutritional deficiencies.2 Moreover, this systemic inflammation increases temporarily during exacerbations and is highly heterogeneous in nature, as shown by Saleh et al.2 In this study, some 31 different biomarkers related to systemic inflammation were grouped into five components: mononuclear chemotaxis, immune regulation, acute phase response, immune activation and polymorphonuclear chemotaxis. However, around half of the molecules analysed could not be assigned to any of these five groups. Several mediators or groups of mediators were associated with different etiologies, and fibrinogen levels were associated with bronchiectasis severity and poorer quality of life. These findings indicate the large number of different pathophysiological mechanisms (endotypes) related to inflammation or regulation of the immune system, and they probably explain, at least in part, the great phenotypic diversity of bronchiectasis.2 Moreover, various studies have related the presence of systemic inflammation to a greater severity of bronchiectasis, based on higher multidimensional scale scores, a greater number and severity of exacerbations, a faster decline in lung function, a greater bronchial bacterial load or a higher probability of chronic pulmonary infection by pathogenic microorganisms (especially PA), poorer quality of life and mortality.3 Systemic inflammation in bronchiectasis could have significant systemic consequences, such as an increased incidence of metabolic or cardiovascular disease (Figure 1). This hypothesis is supported by various findings. On the one hand, other airway diseases closely related to bronchiectasis, such as COPD with chronic bronchial infection, present extrapulmonary manifestations such as an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease. On the other hand, two of the most studied mediators in systemic inflammation in bronchiectasis—fibrinogen and C-reactive protein (CRP)4—have also been directly related to an increased incidence of cardiovascular events. Moreover, some nutritional and metabolic alterations, as well as muscular dysfunctions, have been associated with an excess of systemic inflammation in bronchiectasis.5 Finally, there have been reports of coronary arterial calcification, aortic stiffness, endothelial dysfunction and subclinical atherosclerosis in bronchiectasis patients, all of which are known cardiovascular risk factors.6, 7 Gao et al.7 performed a brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) test (a measure of arterial stiffness) in 80 bronchiectasis patients and 80 well-matched controls, and found a difference between the groups of 1.62 m/s. This difference is clinically significant, since a recent meta-analysis showed that a baPWV increase of merely 1 m/s could lead to an increase of approximately 20% in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. These findings could explain the excess incidence of cardiovascular events observed across various bronchiectasis cohorts.8, 9 However, this finding could not be related to the presence of systemic inflammation (measured by peripheral levels of fibrinogen, CRP, IL-8 and IL-6) but it was associated with an increase in both the number and severity of exacerbations, as well as the presence of a chronic bronchial infection, especially with PA. Accordingly, either there are mechanisms other than systemic inflammation that could explain this finding or, given the great heterogeneity of the systemic inflammation mentioned above, the molecules potentially related to this finding were not analysed. The results of several studies suggest that, of all these mechanisms, the number and severity of exacerbations could play a crucial role,6 while Huang et al. observed that an increased serum concentration of desmosine (as part of systemic inflammation in bronchiectasis) was associated with an increased adjusted cardiovascular mortality in bronchiectasis patients.10 The future therapeutic implications of this situation could be highly significant. Some authors have observed that both non-pharmacological treatments (such as muscle rehabilitation and nutritional programs) and pharmacological treatments (such as statins, neutrophil elastase inhibitors, CXCR2 inhibitors, antibiotics and other immunomodulatory treatments)11 can reduce the level of some systemic proinflammatory molecules. However, no beneficial effect on bronchiectasis has been demonstrated from treatment of systemic inflammation, and, consequently, international guidelines do not recommend such interventions. Finally, some markers of systemic inflammation could also be used to predict treatment response. For example, the number or percentage of peripheral eosinophils could predict the response to biological or inhaled steroid treatments in bronchiectasis (as in the case of COPD), as already suggested by various authors.12 In conclusion, systemic inflammation in bronchiectasis patients has been demonstrated in the past decade, and it could cause extrapulmonary damage, especially in terms of an increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic/nutritional diseases. As highlighted by the EMBARC (European Multicentre Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration) taskforce on research priorities, further studies are needed to identify biomarkers that can assist in risk stratification, targeted interventions and monitoring strategies, as well as the confirmation of a causal relationship between the presence of systemic inflammation (directly or through an increase in exacerbations of bronchial infection) and damage to several target organs. None declared.