Evidence of allergy in patients with cystic fibrosis of the pancreas

Abstract

Review of the records of 135 patients with cystic fibrosis of the pancreas revealed that nineteen had evidence of atopic allergy. The diagnosis of cystic fibrosis was easily overlooked in patients with classical manifestations of atopic allergy, such as asthma, nasal polyps, hay fever, urticaria, eczema, positive skin tests, and familial allergy. Optimal therapy for many of these patients included treatment of the allergic problem as well as the usual regiment for cystic fibrosis. Forty-seven patients with atopic bronchial asthma had no evidence of the sweat chloride abnormality characteristic of cystic fibrosis of the pancreas. The nature of the relationship between cystic fibrosis of the pancreas and atopic allergy is not clear.