Research Article Does Pseudomonas aeruginosa Colonization Affect Exercise Capacity in CF? Asterios Kampouras, 1 Elpis Hatziagorou , 1 Vasiliki Avramidou, 1 Vasiliki Georgopoulou, 2 Fotios Kirvassilis, 1 and John Tsanakas 1 1 Pediatric Pulmonology and CF Unit, 3 rd Department of Pediatrics, Hippokration Hospital, Aristotle University of essaloniki, essaloniki, Greece 2 Radiology Department, Hippokration Hospital, essaloniki, Greece Correspondence should be addressed to Elpis Hatziagorou; elpcon@otenet.gr Received 23 April 2019; Accepted 9 October 2019; Published 17 December 2019 Academic Editor: Roberto Walter Dal Negro Copyright © 2019 Asterios Kampouras et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Introduction. Cardio-Pulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) has been recognized as a valuable method in assessing disease burden and exercise capacity among CF patients. Aim. To evaluate whether Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonization status affects Exercise Capacity, LCI and High-Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) indices among patients with CF; to check if Pseudomonas colonization can predict exercise intolerance. Subjects. Seventy-eight (78) children and adults with CF (31 males) mean (range) age 17.08 (6.75; 24.25) performed spirometry, Multiple Breath Washout (MBW) and CPET along with HRCT on the same day during their admission or follow up visit. Results. 78 CF patients (mean FEV1: 83.3% mean LCI: 10.9 and mean VO 2 peak: 79.1%) were evaluated: 33 were chronically colonized with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 24 were intermittently colonized whereas 21 were Pseudomonas free. Statistically significant differences were observed among the three groups in: peak oxygen uptake % predicted (VO 2 peak% ( < 0.001 ), LCI ( < 0.001 ), as well as FEV1% ( < 0.001 ) and FVC% ( < 0.001 ). Pseudomonas colonization could predict VO 2 peak% ( < 0.001 ,  2 : −0.395). Conclusion. Exercise capacity as reflected by peak oxygen uptake is reduced in Pseudomonas colonized patients and reflects lung structural damages as shown on HRCT. Pseudomonas colonization could predict exercise limitation among CF patients. 1. Introduction Cystic Fibrosis lung disease is characterized by the presence and persistence of thick mucus secretions that are not easily cleared from the patient’s airways [1, 2]. is decreased mucus clearance predisposes to early colonization from pathogens, especially Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), thus lead- ing to a vicious cycle of infection and inflammation [3]. Pseudomonas colonization has been shown to be a factor influ- encing FEV1 decline in cystic fibrosis, increasing the hazard of developing severe lung disease to 2.4 times [4] and conse- quently having a strong impact on overall prognosis. Since many years, prognosis in CF is best evaluated with Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) [5, 6]. Exercise testing measures the peak oxygen volume absorbed (VO 2 peak)by a person’s lungs during maximal exercise highlighting his exercise capacity. In CF, patients with VO 2 peak values >80% predicted have been shown to present nearly excellent 10-year prognosis [5]. Pseudomonas colonization as a factor of inflammation and infection has been shown to affect exer- cise capacity. Recently, Van de Weert-van Leeuwen et al., have showed that Pseudomonas is an independent factor associated with longitudinal changes in VO 2 peak and exercise capacity. Even though long-term effects of P. aeruginosa coloniza- tion in VO 2 peak have been made profound, no data exist on how exercise capacity of CF patients colonized compares to that of Pseudomonas-free and if such impairment exists, whether it is translated to structural lung damages as seen on High Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT). Aim of the present study was to perform a cross-sectional analysis of exercise capacity in CF patients chronically Hindawi Pulmonary Medicine Volume 2019, Article ID 3786245, 5 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/3786245