An editorial by Jennifer L. Goralski, MD, assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics in the division of pulmonary diseases and critical care medicine, was featured in the October 15 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, titled “
Early disease identification leads to targeted subspecialty care and improved health outcomes. This concept underlies universal newborn screening (NBS) for cystic fibrosis (CF), which has been in place in the United States since 2010. However, NBS has not been proven to have a demonstrable effect on the progression of CF lung disease despite improvements in nutrition and growth of infants with CF. Although it is simple to detect changes in weight as a result of pancreatic enzyme use instituted in the first few weeks of life, it has been much more challenging to prove benefits in lung disease progression.
Read more in the AJRCCM.