Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common chronic autosomal recessive genetic disorder in Caucasians. As it affects multiple organs, people with CF (pwCF) are treated by multidisciplinary teams of experts in specialized CF centers. One of these is the CF center at the University Children’s Hospital in Ljubljana, where all children and adolescents with CF in Slovenia are monitored. A database of patients that has been maintained since the center’s establishment helps us analyze conditions and compare our patients’ treatment quality with other European CF centers.
Methods: We performed a retrospective study to review and assess disease indicators of children and adolescents with CF treated at the University Children’s Hospital in Ljubljana in 2020. We analyzed data on demographic characteristics, genetic mutations, lung function, nutrition, chronic infections, and CFTR modulator therapy (CFTR - cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) of the 78 included patients. For comparison with other European centers, we used data from the 2020 annual report of the European CF registry.
Results: In 2020, 78 patients were treated at our center, of which 56% (44/78) were male. The mean age of the patients was 13.2 years (SD 6.4 years), ranging from 1.2 years to 25.5 years. The F508del mutation was the most frequently represented, with 88.5% of patients being heterozygous, and 64.1% being homozygous for the mutation. Our patients’ mean forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) was above the European average, and the prevalence of chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection was below the European average. In 2020, we introduced CFTR modulator therapy to 21 patients, of which five received lumacaftor/ivacaftor and 16 received elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor.
Conclusions: Indicators of treatment quality of children and adolescents with CF in Slovenia meet and often exceed the European average. We were among the first countries in Europe to introduce CFTR modulator therapy, which promises a significant improvement in the clinical condition and quality of life of pwCF.
|