title: [Clinical characteristics and outcome of cystic fibrosis: report of 16 cases].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this report is to determine clinical characteristics and outcome of Cystic Fibrosis (CF).
  
  
  METHODS
  Cases of CF managed at Infantile Medicine A Department in Children's Hospital of Tunis during 13 years (1994-2006) were reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  16 children had CF. They were 8 males and 8 females. 13 patients were consanguineous and four had similar familial cases. The mean age at diagnosis was 19 months (10 days, 13 years). 3/4 of patients were symptomatic within the first trimester of life. Revealing symptoms were: obstructive bronchopathy associated to chronic diarrhea (n=6), edema-anemia-hypotrophy-hypoproteinemia syndrome (n=3), meconium ileus (n=4), bronchiectasis (n=2) and chronic diarrhea (n=1). The diagnosis was confirmed by sweat test and genotypic data. The F508 del was the most frequent mutation (54%). Clinical outcome was characterized by the occurrence of respiratory and nutritional complications: acute respiratory failure (n=6), chronic respiratory failure (n=3), chronic pseudomonas aeruginosa infection (n=6) at a medium age of 3.8 years, recurrent haemoptysis (n=2), pleural effusion (n=2), a malnutrition (n =10) and diabetes associated to puberty delay in one patient. Seven patients died at mean age of 4.4 years (6 months, 17.3 years). Among surviving patients, six had no compromised nutritional status or lung function. Prenatal diagnosis was performed in three families.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CF is characterized by earliest onset and severity of symptoms. Therapeutic insufficiency is the main cause of precocious complications and poor prognosis in our series.
authors.affiliation: Service Médecine Infantile A, Hôpital d'enfants Tunis, Tunisie.
authors.forename: Monia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khemiri
authors.forename: Anis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ben Rhouma
authors.forename: Safia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bouzid
authors.forename: Tayeb
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Messaoud
authors.forename: Manef
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guesmi
authors.forename: Mourad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hamzaoui
authors.forename: Slaheddine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fattoum
authors.forename: Faouzia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Khaldi
authors.forename: Siham
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barsaoui
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001987:Bronchiectasis / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003241:Consanguinity; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D045823:Ileus / Q000209:etiology; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007415:Intestinal Obstruction / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008470:Meconium; D009154:Mutation; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011379:Prognosis; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000209:etiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013542:Sweat / Q000737:chemistry