CF: An X-ray database to assess effect of aerosolized tobramycin

This paper assesses the effectiveness of aerosolized tobramycin (TOBI) on cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease, using a radiologic tool. The published tool, the age‐based severity curve (ABS), is derived from Brasfield scoring of chest X‐rays (CXR). This study evaluates both the usefulness of the ABS as an assessment tool and the effectiveness of TOBI. Thirty‐eight patients were treated with TOBI. Twenty‐four treated with dornase alfa were excluded. Fourteen patients, aged 2 months to 22 years (mean, 17 months of TOBI treatment), comprised the study group. Radiographs were obtained over a mean of 7.8 years (SD = 6.5 years; range, 9 months–18 years). Two hundred and eighty‐two CXR of TOBI patients were analyzed following the ABS protocol. Rate of decline in radiologic status of the TOBI group and ABS were compared. Also, TOBI was assessed by comparing rate of decline before and after initiation of treatment. The TOBI group's radiologic assessment was compared to its rate of decline in pulmonary function studies and published population data. Rate of decline in ABS was 0.175 Brasfield points/year vs. 0.150 points/year in the TOBI group (P