Risks associated with exercise testing and sports participation in cystic fibrosis

Abstract

Background Severe adverse reactions (SARs) associated with physical exercise have not been systematically studied in cystic fibrosis (CF). Methods Two surveys were conducted to assess the incidence of exercise-related SARs: a caregiver survey asking for complications associated with exercise testing and in-hospital training therapy and a web-based patient survey asking for problems with exercise. Results 78 of 107 CF facilities caring for 4208 patients responded to the caregiver survey, 256 patients answered the web-based survey. No SARs were reported for 713 exercise tests. With in-hospital training, the yearly incidence of exercise-related SARs such as pneumothorax, cardiac arrhythmia, injury or hypoglycaemia was < 1% each, the respective lifetime incidences reported by the patients were 0.8–6.3%. 67% of the patients reported no SARs with exercise. Conclusions Exercise testing is safe in patients with CF. Despite the limitations in quality of data, the incidence of exercise-related SARs appears low in this population.