Should we do a sweat test?

Frage

My daughter is 19 months old, weighs 8.5 kg and is 76 cm tall. As you understand, we have nutrition issues. My eldest daughter is 5.5 years od and is pretty thin (15.5 kg). Our paediatrician has done some initial tests for the low weight issue and the results were good. She told us that the child need to have a sweat test because she has a history of episodes of bronchiolitis (stool and sweat are normal). I am very stressed. Do you think we should proceed with the sweat test?

Antwort

Dear friend,
Your daughter is 19 months old, weighs 8.5 kg and is 76 cm tall. Both parameters are under 3%.
I do not know the whole history of your child’s development, but only these two parameters. I would like to know the amount of calories taken daily, the number of defecations, if the stool is bulky, fatty and how they smell. The child had some tests, the results were good, but your paediatrician wants more testing.
I believe that your doctor was right to recommend further testing, due to the issue of growth and the history of episodes of bronchiolitis. A test, such as the sweat test, is not performed only to confirm the presence of a disease, such as CF, but also to exclude such a possibility, in order to seek out other causes. For this reason you need to have various tests, in order to exclude some causes and ultimately to find out the cause that justifies all the symptoms and findings. The sweat test will help you in this effort, so you need not be so stressed.
Yours friendly,
Dr. Stavros Doudounakis

11.05.2018