Association between early respiratory viral infections and structural lung disease in infants with cystic fibrosis.

Background: Infants with cystic fibrosis (CF) develop structural lung disease early in life, and viral infections are associated with progressive lung disease. We hypothesized that the presence of respiratory viruses would be associated with structural lung disease on computed tomography (CT) of the chest in infants with CF.

Methods: Infants with CF were enrolled before 4 months of age.

Early respiratory viral infections in infants with cystic fibrosis.

Background: Viral infections contribute to morbidity in cystic fibrosis (CF), but the impact of respiratory viruses on the development of airway disease is poorly understood.

Methods: Infants with CF identified by newborn screening were enrolled prior to 4 months of age to participate in a prospective observational study at 4 centers. Clinical data were collected at clinic visits and weekly phone calls.

In children, the microbiota of the nasopharynx and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid are both similar and different.

Rationale: Sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) are often obtained to elucidate the lower airway microbiota in adults. Acquiring sputum samples from children is difficult and obtaining samples via bronchoscopy in children proves challenging due to the need for anesthesia and specialized procedural expertise; therefore nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs are often used as surrogates when investigating the pediatric airway microbiota. In adults, the airway microbiota differs significantly between NP and BALF samples however, minimal data exist in children.

Safety of intravenous tobramycin in combination with a variety of anti-pseudomonal antibiotics in children with cystic fibrosis.

Objectives: Previous studies have examined renal safety of once daily intravenous tobramycin in individuals with cystic fibrosis. This has been mainly in combination with ceftazidime in an adolescent or adult population. In this report, we describe our institutional experience of once daily intravenous tobramycin in combination with a variety of second anti-pseudomonal antibiotics in children with cystic fibrosis.