Evaluation of the Emission Distance of P. Aeruginosa From the Respiratory Tract of People With Cystic Fibrosis

It is well known that an association exists between the acquisition of some respiratory pathogens and prognosis of CF people. About 57 % of patients has a lung infection due to P.aeruginosa (PA). Transmission of PA between CF patients is possible and several prevention measures are recommended. Among these measures, all international guidelines recommend that CF people maintain a minimum distance of 1 meter between them. However, this recommendation is not supported by specific studies and scientific evidence. In other words, the investigators don't know if this measure is sufficient or excessive, as it is based only on a theoretical rationale. This study aims at measuring experimentally the distance that can be reached by PA emitted from airways of colonized CF patients during cough and during conversation. To this purpose, the investigators will evacuate the presence of PA on surfaces placed at 4 different distances from patients, through the collection of 8 swabs, 4 of which following cough and 4 following conversation. Swabs will be collected on sterile surfaces comprised between tra 0 - 0,5 mt; 0,5 -1,00 mt.; 1,00 - 1,5 mt and 1.5-2 mt. All the PA-positive CF patients of the CF Centre of Tuscany aged 14 or more will be recruited.