CF Diagnosis

Question

Hello,
My son will be 6 months. He is thriving (7,75 kg, cca 70 cm) but has had runny stool (no diets make it better), with phlegm, sometimes oily, like greasy mud. He suffers from stomach pains during nursing and feeding (more cramps earlier, now on Lefax so the problems have subsided a bit). He could not be fully nursed and was additionaly fed by Nutrilon, nowadays mostly. He had some blood in his stool once. He seems to have a salty sweat but I have no way to compare it. His pediatrician does not see anything unusual on his stomach problems, she thinks that it is caused by the formula, but I worry. Sometimes my son coughs a bit, but nothing significant. He went throught infection connected with cough once. No CF in the family, no tests done. I suffer from juvenile chronic arthritis (without any significant problems and currently on no medication) and my husband has a lower thyroid gland function and on his side of the family there are problems connected to thyroid gland.
Should I consider the CF test? How is it done? Is hospitalisation necessary?
Thank you for your answer.

Answer

Hello,
Due to your son’s problems and your worries that are understandable, it would be good to go through everything with your son’s GP again – mainly to draw her attention to the salty sweat and the runny stool. Your son’s GP should send your son to perform a sweat test, which is performed on an outpatient basis and it is not necessary to be hospitalised. It is important that the test is done in a laboratory with enough experiences (meaning that it performs at least 200 sweat tests per year). The test is non-invasive and does not hurt. According to the results of the sweat test there are further test administered – genetic and complex examination including blood tests. This is mostly done while your child is hospitalised. There is a number of potential causes for your son’s problems and therefore a complex examination in a specialised centre is in place.
Among the many potential causes one should think of and rule out an intolerance/allergy to cow's milk protein. Your son is in the typical age for that, you mentioned "blood in the stool" and he gets mother's milk together with an artificial milk product containing cow's milk protein. It is even possible to develop an inolerance/allergy to cow's milk protein in only breat fed children via the cow's milk protein the mother takes in and that is transferred to the mother's milk.

Best regards and all best, Jitka Brazova

27.04.2009