Free-breathing MRI for Monitoring Ventilation Changes following Antibiotic Treatment of Pulmonary Exacerbations in Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis.

Treatment response in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is traditionally monitored using pulmonary function tests (PFTs), such as spirometry. However, PFTs can be insensitive to treatment, particularly in early CF lung disease [1]. Hyperpolarized (HP) 129Xe MRI (Xe-MRI) has been shown to be feasible in children [2], more sensitive to early CF lung disease compared to PFTs [3 and captures improvements in ventilation inhomogeneity in pediatric CF patients receiving intravenous antibiotic treatment for a PEx [4]. However, access to hyperpolarized 129Xe gas is not widely available and Xe-MRI requires subjects to perform an extended breath-hold (10–15 s), which is challenging for very sick children. Footnotes This manuscript has recently been accepted for publication in the European Respiratory Journal . It is published here in its accepted form prior to copyediting and typesetting by our production team. After these production processes are complete and the authors have approved the resulting proofs, the article will move to the latest issue of the ERJ online. Please open or download the PDF to view this article. Conflict of interest: Dr. Munidasa reports grants from Cystic Fibrosis Centre, grants from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, grants from Canadian Institutes of Health Research, during the conduct of the study. Conflict of interest: Dr. Couch reports that he was supported by a MITACS Elevate Postdoctoral Fellowship, which was funded in part by Siemens Healthcare Limited. Dr. Couch is currently an employee of Siemens Healthcare Limited. This employment began after the conclusion of the study. Conflict of interest: Dr. Rayment reports other from Polarean Inc, outside the submitted work. Conflict of interest: Dr. Voskrebenzev reports In addition, Dr. Voskrebenzev has a patent Method of quantitative magnetic resonance lung imaging Conflict of interest: Dr. Seethamraju reports personal fees from Siemens Medical Solutions, USA Inc., outside the submitted work. Conflict of interest: Dr. Vogel-Claussen reports grants from Siemens Healthineers, during the conduct of the study; grants and personal fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, grants from GSK, grants and personal fees from Astra Zeneca, outside the submitted work; In addition, Dr. Vogel-Claussen has a patent Voskrebenzev, Gutberlet, Vogel-Claussen „Method of quantitative magnetic resonance lung imaging“Nr. EP3107066, US-2016-0367200-A1 22.12.2016 licensed to Siemens Healthineers. Conflict of interest: Dr. Ratjen has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Dr. Santyr reports grants and non-financial support from Siemens Healthineers, grants from Canadian Institutes of Health Research, during the conduct of the study; grants and non-financial support from Siemens Healthineers, outside the submitted work.