Cystic Fibrosis Complications

By Jean-Marie Beaumont

As a progressive and life-shortening disease that takes its toll on nearly the entire body, Cystic Fibrosis complications are unfortunately plentiful and frequent.

Because of the thickened mucus that comes along with Cystic Fibrosis, one of the numerous areas that Cystic Fibrosis complications occur in is the lungs. Cystic Fibrosis complications occur in the lungs when the bacteria that are naturally present in mucus grow and reproduce out of control, causing pneumonia, infection, or inflammation. In later stages, Cystic Fibrosis complications of the lungs lead to structural changes that worsen chronic breathing difficulties in Cystic Fibrosis sufferers.

Cystic Fibrosis Complications

Other common Cystic Fibrosis complications are hemoptysis or coughing up blood, pulmonary hypertension or high blood pressure in the lung, and respiratory failure that requires ventilators or bilevel positive airway pressure machines.

Cystic Fibrosis complications also occur in the sinuses due to the thickened mucus, which may cause blockages in the sinus passages and lead to infection. In extreme cases, overgrowth in the nasal tissue may occur and create breathing problems by blocking nasal passages.

Gastrointestinal Cystic Fibrosis complications are some of the earliest indicators that Cystic Fibrosis may be present in newborns. Ten percent of newborns with Cystic Fibrosis have meconium ileus, which is a fancy name for the inability to pass feces.

Thickened mucus also causes Cystic Fibrosis complications in the pancreas, which causes digestive problems called malabsorption. In malabsorption, the patient has trouble absorbing nutrients, which leads to their fecal excretion and could cause intestinal blockages. Thickened mucus and secretions may also cause Cystic Fibrosis complications in the liver which may lead to serious problem such as cirrhosis.