Background: Asthma is a chronic relapsing airways disease that represents a major public health problem worldwide. With the high incidence of asthma, there has been a surge in the use of complementary therapies, such as compound honey syrup in Traditional Persian Medicine, in the treatment of asthma. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Iranian poly herbal formulation (compound honey syrup) in the treatment of mild to moderate pediatric asthma. Materials and Methods: The study was a randomized clinical trial that was conducted on 80 patients with mild to moderate asthma assigned to two groups (n=40 for each group) for eight weeks. Control and experimental groups received classical treatment of asthma with fluticasone spray; in case of worsening of symptoms, salbutamol spray was used for short term. The experimental group also received compound honey syrup (the combination of honey and an extract of the following five medicinal plants: ginger, cinnamon, saffron, cardamom, and galangal). Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) items and total scores of ACQ were evaluated before and after treatment. Results: To this end, 72 patients completed this study. There was no significant difference between the experimental and the control groups in baseline data such as age, sex, body mass index, ACQ items, and ACQ scores. Total scores and all items of ACQ, with the exception of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1%), were significant between groups (P<0.05). No serious adverse effects were observed in the two groups. Conclusions: The results of this study reveal that compound honey syrup can be a safe and effective complementary drug for the treatment of pediatric asthma [GMJ.2017;6(4):291-301] DOI: 10.22086/gmj.v6i3.884
Reinfection rate with SARS-CoV-2 and degree of protection by the induced antibody after the first episode of the infection is not well known, so it makes a big dilemma for health care personnel (HCP) who work in the front line of combating SARS-CoV-2. In this study, we investigated the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 redetection among HCP after the initial onset of the infection in a children’s hospital during one year. Out of 131 seropositive HCP, 13.7% of them were symptomatic and PCR positive during 74-360 days after first sampling. Analysis of demographic data of seropositive HCP showed a correlation between a higher number of family members, higher body mass index, and the existence of underlying diseases with SARS-CoV-2 redetection. In conclusion, reinfection is one of the important problems in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Research on this topic can help us to find answers to questions for estimating the duration of human protection with produced immunity after the infection or vaccination.
Asthma is the most common chronic illness in children and is a major reason for pediatric emergency department visits. Beta-2 agonists are considered the most effective drugs for immediate relief in the symptoms. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of salbutamol delivered via jet nebulizer with a metered-dose inhaler (MDI) plus a spacer for asthma exacerbation in the pediatric emergency departments. The study was a randomized control, parallel-group design in children with age ranging from 6 months to 14 years, presenting in the emergency department with an acute asthma attack. A total of 116 patients were recruited for the study. Sixty-two patients were enrolled in the MDI/spacer group, and 54 patients were in the nebulizer group. Patients were assessed at baseline (0 min) and 15, 30, 45 and 60 min after commencement of the nebulizer and MDI/spacer. The response of each group to treatment was compared. The parents were counseled for their child enrolment in the study, which was approved by the Human Ethics Committee of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Ethic code was IR.SBMU.SM.REC.1394.19. The patients in both treatment groups demonstrated statistically noticeable improvement in clinical scores at all study assessment periods. Results revealed that salbutamol via MDI/spacer was as effective as salbutamol nebulization during the treatment of asthma exacerbations. Salbutamol MDI/spacer is equally efficacious when compared to nebulization. Therefore, because Salbutamol MDI/spacer is more user-friendly and affordable, it is preferable to be used in emergency departments.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.