Cystic fibrosis

Pulmonary rehabilitation in cystic fibrosis (CF) utilizes the same components as in other respiratory conditions. However, there are some specifics that should be beard in mind. For one, CF is a multi-organ disease with quite variable clinical characteristics and disease burden among individuals. Thus, pulmonary rehabilitation cannot focus solely on the lungs but has to take upper airways, nutritional aspects, the cardiovascular system, liver disease, and the musculoskeletal system into account. Furthermore, people with CF may host various pathogens, which may be (directly or indirectly) transmitted from one person to the other. Infection control measures are, thus, of utmost importance and often interfere with traditional rehabilitation settings such as group sessions. The chapter will focus on aspects of pulmonary rehabilitation which are particularly important in CF. For general information on components of pulmonary rehabilitation, we refer to the respective chapters at the beginning of this book.