cystic fibrosis Diagnosis and tests
In the majority of cases, cystic fibrosis is diagnosed in childhood. Different tests and diagnostic procedures are performed to evaluate the disease. Some of the tests have been mentioned below.
Newborn screening
This test is performed on newborn babies. A healthcare provider takes a few drops of the blood from heel prick while the child is still in the hospital. The doctor then drops the blood drop on the card called a Guthrie card. The samples are sent to the laboratory, and it is checked for a chemical made by the pancreas. The tests performed at the laboratory can diagnose CF. Sometimes newborn babies fail immunoreactive trypsinogen tests (IRT), but they don’t carry CF. It means that they are at higher risk of acquiring cystic fibrosis.
Every hospital in the US requires the newborn baby tests to identify if he is healthy or suffering from any disease.