Location:
Children’s Hospital, VH PMDU Zone B, First floor at London Health Sciences Centre
800 Commissioners Road East, London, Ontario.
Clinic Routines:
Clinic appointments are once every 3-4 months or more often if needed.
Clinics are held every Wednesday afternoon. You will be asked to complete a questionnaire that will give us a general overview of how your health has been since the last clinic visit.
We will collect a sputum sample or throat swab from you each time, to evaluate what organism may be growing in your lungs and to determine the best treatment for you.
Starting at the age of five years, you will complete a Pulmonary Function Test that allows us to monitor your lung function and detect declines in your lung health.
You will see the doctor and nurse case manager at every visit and we will review your care and answer any questions you may have. The physician will complete a physical assessment and listen to your lungs.
Once a year from the time of diagnosis, you will be asked to complete yearly blood work and a chest X-ray. This is to monitor you vitamin levels, ensure you are not developing liver disease and are able to fight off infection. The chest X-ray is done so that we can monitor for the chronic changes that occur in CF.
Starting at the age of 10 years, you will also have an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) completed, which monitors for Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes (CFRD). You will also have a Bone Mineral Density (BMD) done. This test shows us how strong your bones are and whether or not we need to add any more vitamin D into your regime or calcium supplements.
If your baby has been diagnosed with CF, the clinic flow is slightly different. You will be seen weekly for the first 2-3 months and as your baby progresses, we will slowly increase the amount of time between clinic visits. Each baby responds to treatment differently and as such we will individualize the care plan.
