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Juvenile arthritis and CF

Question
I have a 4 year old boy who was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis 2 months ago. He has started treatment. His weight is the same the last few months, something that worries me. He weighs 14 kgr and is 103 cm tall. Since last week he has a productive cough, which has not got any better, despite taking aerolin. Before he started going to day care at the age of 2.5 he was sick only once. His stool looks normal, but do not always sink, especially when he is ill. Do you think he has CF? His sweat seems salty, but the same is true for his father, who does not have CF. I would like to know if the sweat test is influenced by cortisone.
Answer
Dear friend,
All sweat is salty, as you correctly describe, but the sweat of a person with CF is sea like salty. Your son’s stool is normal, as you describe, and your child does not suffer from pancreatic insufficiency, in which case the stool would be permanently big, smelly and fatty.

Regarding your question, if taking cortisone has an effect on the sweat test, the answer is yes, as the sweat test values may be reduced due to cortisone intake.

Yours friendly,
Dr. Stavros Doudounakis
15.05.2017