Testing at-home sputum collection for cystic fibrosis infection monitoring

This study is testing whether people with cystic fibrosis can collect sputum (mucus) samples at home and mail them to the research team, and whether these samples work as well as samples collected in the clinic for detecting lung infections. The research team wants to see if home collection could become a convenient option for ongoing infection monitoring, especially for people taking Elexacaftor/Tezacaftor/Ivacaftor (a combination medication that has reduced how much sputum some patients produce).

Many people with cystic fibrosis who take this medication now produce less sputum, making it harder to collect good samples during clinic visits. This study aims to see if collecting samples at home and shipping them could help doctors catch infections better, without requiring frequent in-person appointments.