Pancreatic insufficiency, growth, and nutrition in infants identified by newborn screening as having cystic fibrosis

To evaluate the impact of early pancreatic insufficiency on growth and nutritional status in cystic fibrosis, we studied 49 infants identified by a newborn screening program. Pancreatic insufficiency, determined by increased 72-hour fecal fat excretion, was present in 59% (23/39) of infants at diagnosis (7.0±0.8 weeks; mean±SEM). Before initiation of pancreatic enzyme replacement, growth and nutritional status of pancreatic-insufficient (n=16) and pancreatic-sufficient (n=13) infants were compared. Pancreatic-insufficient infants gained less weight from birth to diagnosis (13.4±3.4 vs 22.3±4.0 gm/day; p=0.05), had decreased triceps skin-fold thicknesses (4.5±0.3 vs 6.1±0.4 mm; p