Lung Function Testing in School-Age Children with Cystic Fibrosis

I. Introduction Lung function testing is a central part of the pulmonary evaluation of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and an important outcome measurement for many intervention trials. Accurate lung function testing from infancy is important since lung disease often develops before testing is performed at school age (1). Now there are a variety of comparable pulmonary function techniques that allow longitudinal measurement from infancy through the preschool years and later childhood (2-5). With these developments, we have effective ways to measure lung function longitudinally in CF patients to diagnose and manage lung disease in its earliest stages. The discussion that follows will focus on the techniques available to the cooperative older patient.