Gynecologic health care for females with cystic fibrosis

Abstract

As females with cystic fibrosis (CF) increasingly reach their reproductive years, gynecologic issues have become an important area of clinical care and research. First, females with CF may have disease-specific gynecologic problems, including cyclic pulmonary symptoms, vaginal yeast infections, and urinary incontinence. Next, contraceptive methods are thought to be overall safe and effective, however further research is needed to confirm this and to understand the lower rates of uptake among females with CF compared to the general population. Further, females with CF have reduced fertility, although the etiology of this is unknown and under investigation. While assisted reproductive technologies may help achieve pregnancy, decision-making around parenthood remains complex. Finally, while patients and providers agree on the importance of sexual and reproductive health care, females with CF underutilize basic preventive services such as cervical cancer screening, and better approaches are needed to bridge the gap with gynecology. In this review, we discuss the current state of gynecologic care for females with CF, as well as clinical and research opportunities for improvement.