Sweat test in CF

Question

Hello,
we have only in May an appointment for a sweat test.
Our son (6 months) has cough since his 5th week of life and wheezing.
He weighs 9000 g. With such a weight, is there CF possible at all?
Many thanks in advance.

Answer

Hello,
You report, that your 6-moths-old son has cough and wheezing since his 5th week of life. You report further, that you only have an appointment for a sweat test in May and you ask, if a CF would be possible at all in your son who has a weight of 9.000 g.
To the last question it can be said, that it is possible that a patient with CF primarily shows a totally normal development of his weight. In about 20% of CF patients there is a normal function of the pancreas at birth and therefore mostly the weight gain is really normal in these patients. With 9000g body weight your son is absolutely in the average of his age for a child with a height of barely 70cm.
As the suspicion of CF has been verbalized in the case of your son, you are understandingly very worried. In this situation a waiting time of nearly 2 months until the performance of a sweat test is absolutely inacceptable. Please ask your pediatrician for the address of the nearest CF Center. There you could get for sure an appointment for the performance of a sweat test at short notice.
We wish you and your son all the best,
Yours sincerely,
Dr. H.-G. Posselt

14.05.2014