ABPA complicating Cystic Fibrosis is frequently associated with significant structural lung damage as assessed by CT scanning.
Using a validated CF scoring system (SLD score) we examined the degree of structural lung disease in a group of 25 children with CF who had received steroid therapy for ABPA (CF-ABPA) and compared our findings to a matched group of CF patients without ABPA (CF-CON) using both cross section and longitudinal analysis. Further, we examined the structure function correlation between CT findings and lung function.
Mean SLD score (expressed as a percentage of maximal score) was significantly higher (worse) in the CF-ABPA group than the CF-CON group (29.3% CF-ABPA vs 18.7 % CF-CON p<0.05). CF-ABPA patients showed significantly greater rate of development of structural lung disease over time than CF-CON patients (6.8% per year vs 1.4% p<0.01). We found no correlation between lung function and the degree of structural lung disease.
ABPA in children with CF is associated with significantly more structural lung disease than that found in children with CF without ABPA. Despite interventive steroid therapy lung disease progresses more rapidly in those patients with ABPA and CF than control patients with CF. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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