RESULT (REflux Surgery in Lung Transplantation) Preliminary Study Protocol

The purpose of the prospective study is to collect information surrounding lung transplant in order to develop a randomized study to determine if prevention of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) related aspiration (stomach acid coming up from the stomach into the esophagus) by surgical fundoplication improves lung rejection. Lung transplantation has evolved into an effective treatment for patients with end-stage lung disease; however, a significant limitation to long-term survival is patients develop a condition of scarring known as chronic lung rejection, which can cause lung function to deteriorate, thereby reducing a patient's chances for survival. Preliminary research has shown a correlation between the presence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and impaired early lung rejection as assessed by a breathing test, FEV1 (the amount of forced expired air volume in 1 second). The Investigator is interested in learning more about this condition and the potential for aspiration (inhaling fluid) injury. The primary goal of this preliminary study will be to identify aspiration markers that are correlated with adverse clinical outcomes (increased early rejection, decreased FEV1) that may be used as inclusion criteria for the future randomized trial. The purpose of the retrospective study is to collect information surrounding lung transplant in order to develop a randomized study to determine if prevention of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) related aspiration (stomach acid coming up from the stomach into the esophagus) by surgical fundoplication improves lung rejection. The goal of this retrospective data collection is to review the following: 1. subject outcome event rates for subjects with and without gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) for survival, Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome (BOS), acute rejection and Forced Expiratory Volume in the first second (FEV-1), 2. the estimated treatment effect of fundoplication on the above event rates, 3. a t