Aim:

·        Establish  incidence of undetected respiratory–esophageal fistulae  (REF)  in local adult population.

·        Evaluation of  different presentations of  REFin adults.

·        Study etiological associations.

·        Follow up the cases detected and observeoutcome.

Methods :Overperiod of one year(September 2016 to September 2017), out of 151adultpatientsreferredtoDepartmentof Radiodiagnosis, MGM Hospital Kamotheforbarium swallowexamination, 6 adult patientsof  REF  werepicked up and enrolled.They wereabove 18 years of age, male andfemale. Patients below 18 years of age were excluded.

Results :Out of the 6 cases, 3 wereacquired broncho–esophageal fistulae  (BEF) due to esophageal carcinoma, 1wasH type tracheo–oesophageal fistula (TEF)  due to esophageal carcinoma, 1 wascongenital H type TEF, 1hadequivocal suspicion of post–tuberculosis BEFvis a vis congenital etiology.

Conclusion :Diagnosis ofREFis challenging. Esophagography is a sensitive test for diagnosing this condition.

Discussion :REFare  rare. Symptoms areinsidious and inconspicuous;hencehigh degree of suspicion is required for diagnosis.Non ionic contrast medium under fluoroscopic guidance is the preferred examination.