low growth

Question

I have a five year old child that is outside the growth curves. We did a sweat test in Thessaloniki and it was negative. My wife was very worried, so she was checked at Laiko hospital and the results were negative. Is there anything else we can do? My wife is so upset that our life has changed. I believe that the boy is of small statute due to his genes. Is it possible for the boy to have a negative sweat test and to suffer from CF? Thank you.

Answer

Dear friend,
If the sweat test has been performed at an experienced center using the method of pilocarpine ionotophoresis to measure the chloride content of the sweat, we can rely on the result. The sweat test was negative (i.e. the chloride concentration of the sweat was below 40 mmol/l) and the genetic analysis for CF mutations, that your wife had, was negative as well. From what you say your child does not present the clinical symptoms of CF (such as frequent cough, bronchitis, fatty, bad smelling stools). The low growth can be attributed to many causes, one of which is heredity, as you yourself mention.
Based on the above I do not recommend any further check for CF, since the negative sweat test of the child and the negative genetic analysis of your wife, in combination with the absence of any clinical CF symptoms, make it practically impossible for the child to suffer from CF. You should seek elsewhere for the causes of the low growth.

Yours friendly,
Dr. Stavros Doudounakis

19.07.2012