Cystic fibrosis in the adolescent and adult

Modern comprehensive therapy for CF now allows the survival of patients into adulthood. In addition, more patients are being diagnosed for the first time in adolescence or early adulthood. As a result, over 20% of all CF patients are aged 18 years or older. The clinical and radiologic features of the older patients differ from those of pediatric patients and are discussed in this article. However, as with the pediatric patients, chronic lung disease remains the major cause of morbidity and is, almost uniformly, the cause of death in adolescent and adult CF. The plain chest radiograph remains a vital tool not only for diagnosis but as a simple method for establishing a baseline at diagnosis and quantifying serial changes as the patient ages.