A comparison of the CFHH criteria against the Leeds criteria in determining the Pseudomonas aeruginosa status among adults with cystic fibrosis

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) status influences management decisions in cystic fibrosis (CF) but diagnostic approaches vary. We evaluated the ability of the CFHealthHub (CFHH) criteria, which consist of two major and four minor statements, in diagnosing chronic PA infection among adults with CF. In this retrospective cross-sectional analysis, we compared the CFHH criteria against the Leeds criteria. Data were collected between 1st January and 31st December 2016 from all adults with CF receiving care at Sheffield, excluding those with lung transplantation (n = 7) or on ivacaftor (n = 13). The CFHH criteria PA status were cross-tabulated against the Leeds criteria, and clinical outcomes between chronic PA vs non chronic PA for both criteria were compared. This analysis included 186 adults with CF (90 females, median age 27 years, median baseline FEV1 78.5%). The CFHH criteria diagnosed more cases of chronic PA (116/186, 62.4% vs 79/186, 42.5%), and 37/107 cases of non-chronic PA according to the Leeds criteria were deemed chronic PA by the CFHH criteria. The magnitude of difference in %FEV1 decline between chronic PA vs non chronic PA was slightly greater for the CFHH criteria (−0.6%, 95% CI –1.8 to 0.6%) compared to the Leeds criteria (−0.2%, 95% CI –1.3 to 1.0%). The CFHH criteria detected more chronic PA cases yet still retained similar levels of discrimination for health outcomes in comparison to the Leeds criteria. These findings provide preliminary evidence for the validity of the CFHH criteria among adults with CF. •Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) status is vital for treatment choice in cystic fibrosis.•The Leeds criteria are commonly used to define PA status in epidemiological research.•In this study, we compared a new criteria (CFHH criteria) against the Leeds criteria.•The CFHH criteria detected more cases of chronic PA, especially in younger adults.•The CFHH criteria also retained similar level of discrimination for health outcomes.