Smoothing the transition from pediatric to adult care: lessons learned

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: As the expected survival improves for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), there is a growing population of adults with CF. There has long been widespread acceptance by key medical societies of the need to provide age-appropriate care for patients with chronic health conditions, such as CF, and yet the actual transition to adult care for many diseases has been slow to develop. RECENT FINDINGS: There has been recent success in the CF care network in the development of adult care programs with a key role played by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Although the number of adult programs has increased considerably, many of these programs remain somewhat tenuous. SUMMARY: No single method of transition of patients from a pediatric care program to an adult care program has proven to be best for all CF centers, yet there are key features of a transition program that are common to all. In this manuscript I focus on key lessons learned in the CF care model. The transition experience in CF can serve as a model for other chronic illnesses with onset in childhood and survival into adulthood.