%0 Journal Article %A Sylvia Verbanck %A Gregory G King %A Wenxiao Zhou %A Anne Miller %A Cindy Thamrin %A Daniel Schuermans %A Bart Ilsen %A Caroline W Ernst %A Johan de Mey %A Walter Vincken %A Eef Vanderhelst %T The quantitative link of lung clearance index to bronchial segments affected by bronchiectasis %D 2018 %R 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2017-210496 %J Thorax %P 82-84 %V 73 %N 1 %X In adult patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), the lung clearance index (LCI) derived from the multiple breath washout relates to both acinar and conductive ventilation heterogeneity. The latter component predicts an association between LCI and the number of bronchial segments affected by bronchiectasis. Here, we experimentally demonstrated this association in patients with CF, and also examined an ancillary group of patients with non-CF bronchiectasis. We conclude that lung disease severity in terms of number of bronchial segments results in an associated LCI increase, likely constituting a portion of LCI that cannot be reversed by treatment in patients with CF lung disease. %U https://thorax.bmj.com/content/thoraxjnl/73/1/82.full.pdf