No abstract

The burden of asthma disproportionately affects children living in economically disadvantaged urban communities. The relationships between ethnicity, genetic differences, lower socioeconomic status, poor medication adherence, greater exposure to environmental triggers, and absence of regular asthma care all contribute to this disparity. This review aims to identify and discuss recent studies on additional factors that may also impact to pediatric asthma disparity. The body of work examined in this review suggests that these disparities are the result of gene-environment interactions, vitamin D metabolism, socioeconomic status, urban environment, healthcare setting, and associated health beliefs.

Children with cerebral palsy are at risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea, which is initially managed by medical therapy but often requires tracheostomy for stabilization of the airway. We report preoperative and postoperative polysomnographic findings in a prospective series of 18 patients with cerebral palsy and obstructive sleep apnea who were refractory to medical management and underwent aggressive surgical treatment of upper airway obstruction. Fifteen of the 18 children (83 percent) in whom tracheostomy was recommended were spared the procedure. Eighteen children with cerebral palsy failed medical management of obstructive sleep apnea and were advised to have tracheostomy. There were 9 boys and 9 girls, ranging in age from 9 months to 17 years and 6 months at the time of operation. Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy was performed in 9 patients, turbinectomy and/or septoplasty in 9, tongue-hyoid advancement in 13, uvulopalatoplasty in 13, conventional mandibular advancement in 2, distraction osteogenesis of the mandible in 2, and tongue reduction in 7. A concomitant Wilkes-Brody procedure for drooling was performed in 6 patients. Preoperative and postoperative polysomnographic data were compared by means of a paired t test. The mean preoperative apnea index, respiratory disturbance index, and lowest oxygen saturation were 3.61, 7.02, and 73.7, respectively. Mean postoperative apnea index, respiratory disturbance index, and lowest oxygen saturation were 0.67, 1.44, and 88.2, respectively. Lowest oxygen saturation and respiratory disturbance index were both improved significantly, with p values of 0.0367 and 0.0021, respectively. Fifteen patients are tracheostomy-free (83 percent) at a mean follow-up time of 30 months (range 14 to 49 months.) Two (11 percent) of the children ultimately required tracheostomy, and one (6 percent) died from respiratory failure following the parents' decision not to proceed with further treatment. Our results confirm the efficacy of an aggressive surgical approach to the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea in neurologically compromised children. Many children and their families may potentially avoid the long-term commitment and cumulative hazards of tracheostomy. Additional strategies that have been adopted include identification and aggressive management of seizures, esophageal reflux, and excessive oral secretions and the application of mandibular distraction and skeletal expansion whenever feasible. Close postoperative monitoring is necessary with reoperation for recurrent symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea if documented by sleep study and associated with evidence of recurrent or residual morphologic abnormalities.

Background: Pulmonary complications of sickle cell disease (SCD) are diverse and encompass acute and chronic disease. The understanding of the natural history of pulmonary complications of SCD is limited, no specific therapies exist, and these complications are a primary cause of morbidity and mortality. Methods: We gathered a multidisciplinary group of pediatric and adult hematologists, pulmonologists, and emergency medicine physicians with expertise in SCD-related lung disease along with an SCD patient advocate for an American Thoracic Society–sponsored workshop to review the literature and identify key unanswered clinical and research questions. Participants were divided into four subcommittees on the basis of expertise: 1 ) acute chest syndrome, 2 ) lower airways disease and pulmonary function, 3 ) sleep-disordered breathing and hypoxia, and 4 ) pulmonary vascular complications of SCD. Before the workshop, a comprehensive literature review of each subtopic was conducted. Clinically important questions were developed after literature review and were finalized by group discussion and consensus. Results: Current knowledge is based on small, predominantly observational studies, few multicenter longitudinal studies, and even fewer high-quality interventional trials specifically targeting the pulmonary complications of SCD. Each subcommittee identified the three or four most important unanswered questions in their topic area for researchers to direct the next steps of clinical investigation. Conclusions: Important and clinically relevant questions regarding sickle cell lung disease remain unanswered. High-quality, multicenter, longitudinal studies and randomized clinical trials designed and implemented by teams of multidisciplinary clinician-investigators are needed to improve the care of individuals with SCD.

Chronic pulmonary infection/colonization caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa accounts for much of the morbidity and mortality in cystic fibrosis (CF). The effect of chronic pulmonary P. aeruginosa infection on the pulmonary circulation has not been studied. Therefore, we investigated the effect of chronic P. aeruginosa infection on pulmonary hemodynamics in a rat model. Two groups of rats were inoculated with either agar beads containing 1.0 x 10(4) colony-forming units of P. aeruginosa (infected) or an equal volume of sterile beads alone (control). In vivo, pulmonary vasoreactivity measured as the percent change in total pulmonary resistance during hypoxia was decreased at 1 wk (22 +/- 7% versus 57 +/- 3%), 2 wk (29 +/- 5% versus 73 +/- 17%), 3 wk (41 +/- 8% versus 77 +/- 14%), and 6 to 9 wk (23 +/- 10 versus 53 +/- 7; p less than 0.05 all time points; mean +/- SEM) postinoculation in infected animals when compared with that in time-matched control animals. At 6 to 9 wk postinoculation, pulmonary artery pressure was significantly elevated in infected rats (25.8 +/- 1.6 versus 21.0 +/- 1.0 mm Hg; p less than 0.05) when compared with that in control animals. Histopathologic findings were characterized by bronchiectasis as well as by chronic bronchial, parenchymal, and perivascular inflammation at all time points in infected animals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)