Sweat Test Screenings for Cystic Fibrosis

About Sweat Testing

• A sweat test measures the amount of salt present in the sweat.
• Sweat testing is the most reliable way to diagnose cystic fibrosis.
• During the test, small areas of your or your child’s arms or legs will be stimulated to sweat. The sweat will be collected in a small capillary tube and sent to a laboratory for analysis.
• The test takes approximately one hour.

How Much Time Do I Need for the Appointment?

The sweat test itself takes approximately one hour. Your visit at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, including meeting with a genetic counselor if indicated, could take up to two hours in total.

Note: If you/your child is sick the day of the test with a fever, cold or flu, please call the laboratory to reschedule at 216-286-4173.

Where Is the Sweat Testing Center?

Your provider will send you to UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, Pediatric Pulmonary clinic located on the 6th floor of Rainbow.

The address is 2101 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH 44106. It is most convenient to utilize the Adelbert Road parking garage next to UH Rainbow, walk through the main entrance, and ask that front desk to point you in the direction of the Charlie Brown elevators. You will take the Charlie Brown elevators up to the 6th floor and tell the front desk that you are there for your sweat test.

What to Expect During the Sweat Test:

• The sweat test takes about one hour.
• The test does not involve needles.
• You/Your child might feel a slight tingling or itchy feeling, but the test is not painful.
• A disk containing a colorless, odorless chemical that causes sweating is placed on the patient’s arm or leg and held in place by a snug Velcro band.
• This disk is then attached to a small machine that will send a weak electrical pulse to the skin to make it sweat.
• The first disk will be removed and a second disk will be placed over the stimulated area to collect the sweat.
• You/Your child may lie down, sit on the table or in your lap, or play quietly during the 30-minute collection time. If your child is a baby, you may hold him or her in your arms and give a bottle or nurse.

What Happens After the Sweat Test?

• The area under the collection disk will be red. This redness usually goes away after a few hours.
• Occasionally, a rash will appear. If a rash appears, you may use A&D Ointment on it to relieve any itchiness. The rash might take longer to fade than the redness.
• In very rare cases, the skin under the collection disk might look like a bad sunburn. In the unlikely event of a burn, your doctor would give you special instructions for treating the skin.
• You/Your child may resume normal activities, eating and drinking as soon as the test is over.

Understanding Your Results

• You will find out the results of the test within 24-48 hours.
  • Less than 30 mmol/L = CF is unlikely
  • Between 30-59 mmol/L = CF is possible and additional testing is needed
  • Greater than or equal to 60 mmol/L = CF is likely to be diagnosed
• If you/your child does not produce enough sweat, the test may need to be repeated.

If you need to reschedule or cancel the test, please call the laboratory at 216-286-4173.

Follow-Up

If you or your child has cystic fibrosis, you can meet with a member of UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital’s CF team for an introduction to the LeRoy W. Matthews Cystic Fibrosis Center and our services. We will arrange for you or your child to be seen within one week of your sweat test. At our center, we have a dedicated team of staff members to care for you or your child using the latest and best treatments for cystic fibrosis.

The LeRoy W. Matthews Cystic Fibrosis Center at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital

The LeRoy W. Matthews Cystic Fibrosis Center at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital is world-renowned for its care of children and adults with cystic fibrosis and is fully accredited with the highest possible rating by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The model of care – a multidisciplinary team approach that includes pediatric pulmonary specialists, nurses, respiratory therapists, nutritionists, social workers, child life therapists and other specialists – was first developed by Dr. LeRoy Matthews in the 1950s and adopted nationwide by cystic fibrosis care centers.

Physician-scientists at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine are among the world’s most innovative researchers, developing new treatments and leading the search for a cure for cystic fibrosis. The Willard A. Bernbaum Cystic Fibrosis Research Center strives to understand the basic defect of the disease and its consequences, the reasons for the lung infection and inflammation in cystic fibrosis and how to treat it, as well as methods by which the corrective gene can be introduced into the lung. The fruits of these discoveries come to the patients receiving care at the LeRoy W. Matthews Cystic Fibrosis Center and the KC and Ginny Bryan Pulmonary Diagnostic Center at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital through access to novel therapies and clinical trials not available at other hospitals.

At UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, helping patients live a long life is our goal. Due in part to the leadership and research efforts of UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital specialists, the life expectancy of patients with cystic fibrosis nationwide is now more than 59 years, with the majority of patients at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital among the oldest cystic fibrosis patients in the country.