How is CF diagnosed?

Diagnosing cystic fibrosis is a multistep process, and should include a newborn screening, a sweat test, a genetic or carrier test, and a clinical evaluation at a CF Foundation-accredited care center. Although most people are diagnosed with CF by the age of 2, some are diagnosed as adults. A CF specialist can order a sweat test and recommend additional testing to confirm a CF diagnosis. These are some test that can be done:

Immunoreactive Trypsinogen (IRT) Test	Sweat Chloride Test
Sputum Test	CT Scan
Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs)	Chest X-Ray

According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Patient Registry in the United States , many have been diagnosed with CF:

• More than 30,000 people are living with cystic fibrosis (more than 70,000 worldwide).
• Approximately 1,000 new cases of CF are diagnosed each year.
• More than 75 percent of people with CF are diagnosed by age 2.
• More than half of the CF population is age 18 or older.