Sweat Test. Information Leaflet for Parents/Carers

Transcription

1 Information Leaflet for Parents/Carers Sweat Test Child s Name Name of Doctor requesting test Date of appointment Time of appointment Contact name for queries If your child is an outpatient please come to the Blood Sciences Clinical Chemistry Department at the Children s Hospital for this test. If you are unable to keep this appointment, please contact us on /9937 so we can give you another date and time. If your child is an inpatient, Staff from Blood Sciences Clinical Chemistry Department will do the test at your child s bedside. If you have any questions please contact /9937

2 We hope that the following information will help you to understand what will happen when your child comes to hospital to have the sweat test and how to find out the results. What is the sweat test for? A sweat test is done to measure the amount of chloride in a sample of sweat. Your child may need to have a sweat test if they have had: Repeated chest infections Unexplained bouts of diarrhoea Not putting on weight or growing normally Are there any reasons for not performing the test? If you or your child has recently been in contact with any infections or been unwell, especially with diarrhoea and vomiting or has had a temperature or a rash, please contact the department for advice to see if your appointment will need to be rearranged for another day. If your child needs to have cream/lotion/emollient applied to their skin or is receiving steroid treatment please contact the laboratory to discuss this as it may affect our ability to do the test. How long will the sweat test take? The whole test takes about 40 minutes. It is possible that not enough sweat will be collected, in which case we might have to do the test again at a later date. This will be decided by the doctor who requested the test. 1 NHS Leaflet Sweat Test

3 How is the test done? The sweat is usually taken from your child s arm but sometimes it is taken from the leg in small babies. We will clean a small area of skin on your child s arm or leg with water and apply two gels to the skin. These gels contain Pilocarpine that will cause sweating in that area. Very small electrodes are then attached over the gel and a small electric current is applied using a battery, as shown in the diagram below. Your child may have a tingling feeling but it does not hurt. Sweat Test NHS Leaflet 2

4 After 5 minutes the electrodes and gels that contain a blue dye are taken off, the skin is cleaned and a small watch device is placed onto the arm, as shown in the diagram below. The sweat is drawn into a coil inside the watch, which is then taken off after 25 minutes. This does not hurt. The sweat is then taken to the laboratory for analysis. Are there any risks involved in the test? This test is very safe and the risk of any problems is extremely small. The area of the arm or leg where the sweat was taken from may stay red for a few hours after the test. This is normal and is nothing to worry about. There is a very low risk of an allergic reaction to the Pilocarpine. This may cause a localised skin rash/spots which should fade by the end of the day. 3 NHS Leaflet Sweat Test

5 When will we know the result of the test? The result of the test will be available from the doctor who asked for the test to be done within a few days. The doctor will explain the results to you. The test can help them to decide what is wrong but they will also look at your child s symptoms and the results of other tests as well. If you have any questions about why this test is being done please ask the doctor who told you about the test. Please do not telephone the laboratory for the results. Laboratory staff are not allowed to give out results on the telephone as they do not know the background to your child s illness. Is there any other test my child can have instead? There is no other test that will provide us with this level of information. Sweat Test NHS Leaflet 4

6 How to find us The Blood Sciences Clinical Chemistry Department is part of the Paediatric Laboratory Medicine building which is located on Whittall Street at the rear of the hospital. Alterrnatively, you can follow signs for Laboratories from the main entrance to the hospital or ask for directions at the Reception Desk. Staff will be happy to show you where you need to go. Further information is also available on the website 5 NHS Leaflet Sweat Test

7 Looking after and sharing information about your child We have a duty of care to help patients and families understand how information about them is kept and shared and we include the following information in all our patient leaflets: Information is collected about your child relevant to their diagnosis, treatment and care. We store it in written records and electronically on computer. As a necessary part of that care and treatment we may have to share some of your information with other people and organisations who are either responsible or directly involved in your child s care. This may involve taking your child s information off site. We may also have to share some of your information for other purposes such as research etc. Any information that is shared in this way will not identify your child unless we have your consent. If you have any questions and/or do not want us to share that information with others, please talk to the people looking after your child or contact PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service) on Sweat Test NHS Leaflet 6

8 Further Information If you have any questions or concerns about this test, please contact the laboratory using the telephone number on the front of this leaflet. This leaflet has been produced by the Blood Sciences Clinical Chemistry Department. Birmingham Children s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Steelhouse Lane Birmingham B4 6NH Telephone Fax: Website: CPADS 48917/15 Produced: Dec 2015 Review Date: Dec 2019 Version