Cough swabs less useful but induced sputum very useful in symptomatic older children with cystic fibrosis

Use of cough swabs in a cystic fibrosis clinic.

We audited prospectively 322 cough swabs taken from cystic fibrosis children and compared cough swabs with concomitant sputum samples in 30 expectorating patients. A positive cough swab is a strong predictor of sputum culture. However, a negative cough swab does not rule out infection. Persistent symptoms should be further investigated.

Cough swabs should not be used to isolate non-tuberculous mycobacteria in children with cystic fibrosis.

Non-tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) account for 13% of cystic fibrosis (CF)-related respiratory infections and present a major therapeutic challenge. There is increasing evidence to suggest an adverse prognostic significance of NTM, particularly for Mycobacterium abscessus. A recent large retrospective study of 1216 patients with CF found that growths of NTM were associated with progressive det...

Sputum colour: a useful clinical tool in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.

This study explored the utility of sputum colour in clinically stable patients with bronchiectasis. Interpretation of sputum colour between the doctor and the patient was reliable (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.83 (95% confidence interval 0.76-0.89). Sputum colour predicted bacterial colonisation (5% in mucoid sputum; 43.5% in mucopurulent sputum; 86.4% in purulent sputum; p<0.0001). On ...

Chest radiology in cystic fibrosis: is scoring useful?

Cellular profiles of induced sputum in children with stable cystic fibrosis: comparison with BAL.

Neutrophil-dominated endobronchial inflammation is a major characteristic of cystic fibrosis (CF) and there is increasing demand for easy-to-perform noninvasive monitoring for prediction and intervention. Fourteen stable paediatric CF patients (8-17 yrs; mean forced expiratory volume in one second 86.7% of the predicted value) were investigated once by fractional bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) an...