The effect of respiratory viral infections on patients with cystic fibrosis
B. W. Ramsey, E. J. Gore, A. L. Smith, M. K. Cooney, G. J. Redding and H. Foy
Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, School of Medicine, Seattle.
We examined, in a 2-year prospective study, the frequency of respiratory
viral infections in 19 school-age patients with cystic fibrosis and their
unaffected siblings. At 2-month intervals throughout the study period,
pulmonary function tests, oropharyngeal cultures, and serologic tests for
respiratory viruses were performed in all subjects. Quantitative sputum
cultures for bacteria were performed in subjects with cystic fibrosis. The
same laboratory specimens were also collected at the time of all acute
respiratory illnesses. Over the 2-year period, 398 viral cultures and serum
samples were collected, 210 from patients with cystic fibrosis and 188 from
their siblings. The frequency of culture-documented and seropositive viral
infections was not significantly different between patients with cystic
fibrosis and their siblings. The patients with the highest frequency of
viral infection were younger and had the lowest rate of decline in lung
function and severity score. We conclude that school-age patients with
cystic fibrosis are no more susceptible to viral infections than their
unaffected siblings. We were unable to demonstrate any significant adverse
effect of respiratory viral infections on pulmonary function in 19 patients
with cystic fibrosis aged 5 to 21 years.
