Asthma pediatrics

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Respiratory viral infections increase risk of asthma in infants and children. Infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus can cause severe lung inflammation and prolonged respiratory symptoms. We sought to determine whether SARS-CoV-2 infection modified pediatric incident asthma risk. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study examined children ages 1 to 16 within the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Care Network who received polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for SARS-CoV-2 between March 1, 2020 and February 28, 2021...

BACKGROUND: Colder temperature exposure is a known trigger for pediatric asthma exacerbation. The induction of oxidative stress is a known pathophysiologic pathway for asthma exacerbation. However, the role of oxidative stress in linking colder temperature exposure and worsened pediatric asthma symptoms is poorly understood. METHODS: In a panel study involving 43 children with asthma, aged 5-13 years old, each child was visited 4 times with a 2-week interval. At each visit, nasal fluid, urine, and saliva samples were obtained and measured for biomarkers of oxidative stress in the nasal cavity (nasal malondialdehyde [MDA]), the circulatory system (urinary MDA), and the oral cavity (salivary MDA)...

BACKGROUND: The use of a smartphone built-in microphone for auscultation is a feasible alternative to the use of a stethoscope, when applied by physicians. OBJECTIVE: This cross-sectional study aims to assess the feasibility of this technology when used by parents-the real intended end users. METHODS: Physicians recruited 46 children (male: n=33, 72%; age: mean 11.3, SD 3.1 y; children with asthma: n=24, 52%) during medical visits in a pediatric department of a tertiary hospital...

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of hospitalization in infancy in the United States. Nearly all infants are infected by 2 years of age, with bronchiolitis requiring hospitalization often occurring in previously healthy children and long-term consequences of severe disease including delayed speech development and asthma. Incomplete passage of maternal immunity and a high degree of genetic variability within the virus contribute to morbidity and have also prevented successful neonatal vaccine development...

AIM: To explore children and young people's (CYP) (5-24 years of age) self-reported experiences of asthma self-management strategies (ASMS) with nursing involvement across various settings. BACKGROUND: Childhood asthma is an increasingly significant health issue, highlighting the importance of acquiring self-management skills to optimise future health outcomes. Registered nurses play a pivotal role in delivering appropriate, personalized self-management support...

BACKGROUND: Childhood bronchial asthma (BA) is a chronic inflammatory respiratory disease. Nutritional conditions, including zinc deficiency, can affect such allergic disorders. AIM: To outline the difference in serum zinc levels between asthmatic children and healthy controls. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out at Children's Hospital, Cairo University, investigating serum zinc levels in children with BA ( n = 40) and healthy children ( n = 21)...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: It is essential to have proper treatment and management for asthma in order to minimise symptoms, lessen the burden, and lower the chance of exacerbations. To better control asthma, the purpose of this study was to evaluate and enhance paediatric registrars' understanding and application of asthma treatment. METHODS: The Sudan Medical Specialisation Board (SMSB) paediatric registrars provided data for this quasi-interventional study between April and September of 2021...

OBJECTIVE: School-based health centers (SBHCs) improve healthcare access, but associations with educational outcomes are mixed and limited for elementary and middle school students. We investigated whether students enrolled in a comprehensive SBHC demonstrated more growth in standardized math and reading assessments over four school years versus non-enrolled students. We also explored changes in absenteeism. METHODS: Participants were students enrolled in two co-located Title I schools from 2015-19 (1 elementary, 1 middle, n=2,480)...

This practice point summarizes recommendations from the Canadian Thoracic Society's 2021 "Guideline update: Diagnosis and management of asthma in preschoolers, children, and adults." New recommendations include: a decrease in the frequency of daytime symptoms and reliever use to ≤2 per week in the asthma control criteria; assessing for risk of asthma exacerbation; not using as-needed short-acting beta-agonists alone in patients at higher risk for exacerbation; and the option of as-needed budesonide/formoterol (bud/form) in those ≥12 years old if they are unable to take daily inhaled corticosteroids despite extensive asthma education and support...

OBJECTIVES: Asthma is a chronic lung condition that can be exacerbated when triggered by viruses. Pandemic public health restrictions aimed to reduce COVID-19 transmission indirectly effected other circulating viruses. This study assessed the impact of the pandemic and associated public health measures on acute paediatric asthma across four tertiary sites in three Canadian provinces. We queried whether pandemic-related changes would impair preventive care and delay presentation to care, increasing asthma exacerbation severity...

Atopic dermatitis (AD) may sometimes be comorbid with alopecia areata (AA). However, traditional treatments for AA show limited efficacy. New treatment options, such as dupilumab and Janus kinase inhibitors, have proven efficacy in addressing both AD and AA. This article highlights the challenging case of a 12-year-old boy experiencing severe refractory AD and comorbid AA treated with oral abrocitinib after dupilumab failure with 1-year follow-up. After 3 months of treatment, his skin manifestations improved and the hair completely regenerated...

BACKGROUND: Studies in adult chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) showed poor correlation between patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) and objective findings. Our goal is to study the correlation between the sinus and nasal quality of life (SN-5) and the 22-items sinonasal outcome test (SNOT-22) surveys with endoscopy findings in children with chronic adenoiditis (CA) and CRS. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of all pediatric patients (age 2-18) presenting for CA or CRS was performed...

Combined allergic rhinitis and asthma syndrome (CARAS) refers to a common respiratory disease that occurs simultaneously with clinical or subclinical allergic symptoms of the upper respiratory tract (allergic rhinitis) and the lower respiratory tract (asthma). The incidence of CARAS is high and the quality of life of the patients is greatly affected. At present, treatment of this comprehensive disease is often carried out separately in the otorhinolaryngology and respiratory departments. One of the reasons is a lack of coordinated treatment consensus on the comprehensive management of this disease...

BACKGROUND: Pediatricians are often the first point of contact for children in Primary Care (PC), but still perceive gaps in their allergy knowledge. We investigated self-perceived knowledge gaps and educational needs in pediatricians across healthcare systems in Europe so that future educational initiatives may better support the delivery of allergy services in PC. METHOD: A multinational survey was circulated to pediatricians who care for children and adolescents with allergy problems in PC by the EAACI Allergy Educational Needs in Primary Care Pediatricians Task Force from February to March 2023...

BACKGROUND: During adolescence, adolescents and young adults (AYAs) are expected to transfer their care from the pediatric environment towards an adult-focused setting. To prevent an abrupt transfer of care, it is recommended to provide AYAs with chronic conditions an adequate transition program. The aim of this paper is to describe the study protocol for the development of a transition program for AYAs with common chronic conditions (COCCOS study), using the Experience-Based Co-Design (EBCD) methodology...

Objectives. To evaluate the interaction between childhood asthma and S. 25(OH) cholecalciferol among Bangladeshi children. Methods. This case control study was conducted in child asthma clinic, Bangladesh Shishu Hospital Institute during March-August 2021. Comparison was made between clinically-diagnosed (following GINA guideline) asthmatic children (2-12 years-old) (cases = 87) and age and sex-matched children having no respiratory illness (controls = 90) using SPSS' (Statistical Package for Social Science, V...

BACKGROUND: Environmental and social factors, including lack of access to asthma care, contribute to persistent inequities in asthma outcomes among children from historically marginalized ethnoracial groups. Telemedicine, which expanded rapidly during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, may be an approach to augment access to pediatric asthma care. OBJECTIVES: We sought to describe characteristics of pediatric (0-17 years) telemedicine users with asthma and characterize use trends throughout the COVID-19 pandemic...

BACKGROUND: Current national guidelines recommend against chest X-rays (CXRs) for patients with acute asthma exacerbation (AAE). The overuse of CXRs in AAE has become a concern, prompting the need for a quality improvement (QI) project to decrease CXR usage through guideline-based interventions. We aimed to reduce the percentage of CXRs not adhering to national guidelines obtained for pediatric patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) with AAE by 50% within 12 months of project initiation...

Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children, disproportionately affects families with lower incomes, and is a leading reason for acute care visits and hospitalizations. This retrospective cohort study used the Massachusetts All Payer Claims Database (2014-2018) to examine differences in acute care utilization and quality of care for asthma between Medicaid- and privately insured children in Massachusetts. Outcomes included acute care use (emergency department [ED] or hospitalization), ED visits with asthma, routine asthma visits, and filled prescriptions for asthma medications...

BACKGROUND: The burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in high-risk pediatric patients remains unclear. Therefore, this study aims to characterize pediatric RSV cases from January 2019 to December 2022 and assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on RSV burden and RSV-related outcomes. In addition, examining factors influencing RSV-related hospitalization. METHODS: This is a retrospective study that included pediatric patients (aged 14 and below) who presented at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSHRC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with RSV infection identified using real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assays...