Magnetic Resonance Imaging Detects Progression of Lung Disease and Impact of Newborn Screening in Preschool Children with Cystic Fibrosis

Previous cross-sectional studies have demonstrated that chest magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is sensitive to detect early lung disease in infants and preschool children with cystic fibrosis (CF) without radiation exposure. However, the ability of MRI to detect the progression of lung disease and the impact of early diagnosis in preschool children with CF remains unknown. To investigate the potential of MRI to detect progression of early lung disease and impact of early diagnosis by CF newborn screening (NBS) in preschool children with CF. An annual MRI was performed from diagnosis over 4 years in a cohort of 96 preschool children with CF (age, 0-4 yr) who received concurrent diagnoses on the basis of NBS ( = 28) or clinical symptoms ( = 68). MRI scans were evaluated using a dedicated morphofunctional score, and the relationship between longitudinal MRI score and respiratory symptoms, pulmonary exacerbations, upper airway microbiology, and mode of diagnosis was determined. The MRI global score increased in the total cohort of children with CF during preschool years (