@article {McDonnellP2709, author = {Melissa McDonnell and Mohammed Ahmed and Deidre Wall and John Bruzzi and Michael O{\textquoteright}Mahoney and David Breen and Anthony O{\textquoteright}Regan and J.J. Gilmartin and Robert Rutherford}, title = {Prevalence of hiatus hernia in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis and associations with disease severity}, volume = {42}, number = {Suppl 57}, elocation-id = {P2709}, year = {2013}, publisher = {European Respiratory Society}, abstract = {Background: An increased prevalence of hiatus hernia (HH) has been reported in several respiratory diseases. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of HH by computed tomography (CT) among a well-defined cohort of stable non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis patients and determine correlations between HH and disease severity.Methods: A retrospective observational cohort study in consecutive bronchiectasis patients who had undergone investigation in our institution over an 18-month period was performed. Data was collected on baseline variables, microbiology, lung function and radiology. Imaging was independently assessed by a blinded thoracic radiologist to determine presence of HH and extent of bronchiectatic disease.Results: 81 patients were found to have confirmed bronchiectasis on high resolution (HRCT) imaging. 29 (35.8\%) were confirmed to have HH on CT (mean age 64.4 years, 72.4\% females, body mass index 29.4). Of the remaining 57 patients, mean age was 61.6 years, 65.4\% females, BMI 26.1. A higher proportion of HH-positive patients had high BMI (p=0.05). HH-positive patients were found to have an increased frequency of cystic bronchiectasis (HH-positive 31.0\%, HH-negative 11.5\%, p=0.03) and an increased number of bronchiectatic lobes affected (2.62 versus 2.17, p=0.033) compared with HH-negative patients. There was no predilection for any particular lobe. A trend in reduced FEV1\% in HH-positive patients was noted (78.6\% versus 90.3\%, p=0.091) A lower frequency of Haemophilus influenza was observed in HH-positive patients (p=0.089).Conclusions: In this cohort, HH correlated with increased extent and severity of radiological disease with a trend towards reduced lung function.}, issn = {0903-1936}, URL = {https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/P2709}, eprint = {https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/P2709.full.pdf}, journal = {European Respiratory Journal} }