PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Sylvia Verbanck AU - Gregory G King AU - Wenxiao Zhou AU - Anne Miller AU - Cindy Thamrin AU - Daniel Schuermans AU - Bart Ilsen AU - Caroline W Ernst AU - Johan de Mey AU - Walter Vincken AU - Eef Vanderhelst TI - The quantitative link of lung clearance index to bronchial segments affected by bronchiectasis AID - 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2017-210496 DP - 2018 Jan 01 TA - Thorax PG - 82--84 VI - 73 IP - 1 4099 - http://thorax.bmj.com/content/73/1/82.short 4100 - http://thorax.bmj.com/content/73/1/82.full SO - Thorax2018 Jan 01; 73 AB - 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.