Thorax
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BACKGROUND The origins of respiratory disease might be traced back to exposures during fetal life. The aim of the present study was to explore whether there was a relationship between fetal size and respiratory outcomes at 5 years of age in the context of fetal exposure to vitamin E. METHODS A longitudinal birth cohort study was recruited (n=1924). ⋯ CRL was positively associated with maternal plasma alpha-tocopherol (p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS These findings support the concept of very early fetal programming of respiratory disease. Maternal vitamin E status may be one determinant for growth of the fetus and fetal lungs during early pregnancy.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Exacerbation of sleep apnoea by frequent central events in patients with the obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome at altitude: a randomised trial.
BACKGROUND Many patients with the obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSA) travel to the mountains for recreational and professional activities while temporarily discontinuing continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment. A study was undertaken to evaluate the hypothesis that altitude would aggravate their hypoxaemia, sleep-related breathing disturbances and impair daytime performance. METHODS Thirty-four patients with OSA of median age 62 years (IQR 57-65), median apnoea/hypopnoea index (AHI) 47.5 events/h (IQR 32.4-72.8), residing at <600 m were enrolled. ⋯ CONCLUSIONS Altitude exposure in untreated patients with OSA aggravates hypoxaemia, increases sleep-related breathing disturbances due to frequent central apnoeas/hypopnoeas, impairs driving simulator performance and induces cardiovascular stress. These findings have implications for counselling and treating patients with OSA planning to travel to high altitude. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00514826.
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Comparative Study
A prospective large-scale study of methods for the detection of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in refugee children.
BACKGROUND Diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is a cornerstone of the health assessment of resettled high incidence populations, particularly in children. Two blood-based interferon gamma release assays (IGRAs), T-SPOT. TB and QFT-Gold in-tube (QFT-GIT), have greater sensitivity and specificity than the tuberculin skin test (TST), but their performance as screening tools for LTBI in children, especially refugee children, remains unclear. ⋯ In general, the QFT-GIT is the preferred option for non-African populations but the T-SPOT. TB is recommended when there are epidemiological and/or clinical high risk factors for TB infection. However, both IGRAs have methodological and performance characteristics that limit their usefulness in refugee children, highlighting the need for continued development of screening strategies.
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RATIONALE Airway inflammation in asthma is heterogeneous with different phenotypes. The inflammatory cell phenotype is modified by corticosteroids and smoking. Steroid therapy is beneficial in eosinophilic asthma (EA), but evidence is conflicting regarding non-eosinophilic asthma (NEA). ⋯ ICS use led to phenotype misclassification. Steroid responsiveness was greater in EA, but the absence of eosinophilia did not indicate the absence of a steroid response. In NEA this was best predicted by baseline exhaled nitric oxide.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Hypertonic saline improves the LCI in paediatric patients with CF with normal lung function.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Sensitive outcome measures to assess the efficacy of therapeutic interventions in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) with mild lung disease are currently lacking. Our objective was to study the ability of the lung clearance index (LCI), a measure of ventilation inhomogeneity, to detect a treatment response to hypertonic saline inhalation in paediatric patients with CF with normal spirometry. METHODS In a crossover trial, 20 patients with CF received 4 weeks of hypertonic saline (HS) and isotonic saline (IS) in a randomised sequence separated by a 4 week washout period. ⋯ Randomisation order had no significant impact on the treatment effect. CONCLUSIONS The LCI, but not spirometry was able to detect a treatment effect from HS inhalation in patients with CF with mild disease and may be a suitable tool to assess early intervention strategies in this patient population. Clinical trial number NCT00635141.