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To schedule an appointment with the Arnold Palmer Hospital Cystic Fibrosis Center, please call (321) 841-6351.
Contact Us
(321) 841-6351To schedule an appointment with the Arnold Palmer Hospital Cystic Fibrosis Center, please call (321) 841-6351.
Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a lifelong inherited disease that involves the lungs and digestive system of the affected individual. About 30,000 children and young adults in the U.S. have CF. All babies born in Florida are screened for the CF gene and other inherited diseases.
Some of the respiratory and digestive symptoms of CF to watch for in your child include:
We encourage you to schedule a consultation with your child’s pediatrician or your family physician if you have concerns about your child.
A sweat test is a painless test in which sweat is collected from the infant’s skin and analyzed for salt content. Infants with CF have an error in the way some of their cells exchange water and salt.
There are four possible outcomes of a sweat test:
The CF carrier test can help identify carriers of the altered CF gene who could pass it on to their children. Approximately 1 in 29 Caucasians, 1 in 46 Hispanics and 1 in 65 African Americans are carriers of an altered (mutated) CF gene. A child who inherits the altered CF gene from both parents will have CF and will need early treatment.
Each has one copy of the CF gene variant. Eggs and sperm carry one copy each, of either the normal gene or the CF gene variant.
For each pregnancy, there is a:
Knowing that a child is a carrier can be important to you as parents and to your family. Parents who are planning to have more children should consider genetic testing to determine their CF carrier status. Other children in the family may also want to know their carrier status because eventually the CF gene can be passed on to their children. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has a very helpful website with more information about CF and carrier testing: cff.org/aboutcf/testing/
The Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine specialty practice is an accredited Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) Core Care Center. We encourage you to schedule a consultation with your child’s pediatrician or your family physician if you have concerns about your child.