Search
Research question: Are asthma and allergies more common in adolescents conceived with assisted reproductive technologies (ART) compared with adolescents conceived without?
Excessive production, secretion, and retention of abnormal mucus is a pathological feature of many obstructive airways diseases including asthma. Azithromycin is an antibiotic that also possesses immunomodulatory and mucoregulatory activities, which may contribute to the clinical effectiveness of azithromycin in asthma.
Studies examining associations of early-life cat and dog ownership with childhood asthma have reported inconsistent results. Several factors could explain these inconsistencies, including type of pet, timing, and degree of exposure. Our aim was to study associations of early-life cat and dog ownership with asthma in school-aged children, including the role of type (cat vs dog), timing (never, prenatal, or early childhood), and degree of ownership (number of pets owned), and the role of allergic sensitization.
Recently, "Technical standards for respiratory oscillometry" was published, which reviewed the physiological basis of oscillometric measures and detailed the technical factors related to equipment and test performance, quality assurance and reporting of results. Here we present a review of the clinical significance and applications of oscillometry.
Recent evidence suggests that parental exposures before conception can increase the risk of asthma in offspring. We investigated the association between parents' preconception body mass index (BMI) trajectories from childhood to adolescence and subsequent risk of asthma in their offspring.
The burden of IgE-mediated food allergy in Australian born children is reported to be among the highest globally. This illness shares risk factors and frequently coexists with asthma, one of the most common noncommunicable diseases of childhood.
Early childhood wheeze is a major risk factor for asthma. However, not all children who wheeze will develop the disease. The airway epithelium has been shown to be involved in asthma pathogenesis. Despite this, the airway epithelium of children with acute wheeze remains poorly characterized.
Respiratory infection and wheezing illness are leading causes of hospitalisation in childhood, placing a significant burden on families and healthcare systems. However, reliably distinguishing children at risk of developing persistent disease from those likely to outgrow their symptoms remains a clinical challenge. Earlier identification would allow clinicians to focus care and resources on those most likely to benefit from long-term management, while reducing anxiety and uncertainty about the future for families.
Respiratory oscillometry (or the forced oscillation technique) is a highly practical lung function test that can be applied in a wide range of clinical scenarios in children and adults, including the clinic, intensive care unit, patient home monitoring and emergency departments. Oscillometry measurements complement spirometry in detecting abnormal lung function, measuring effects of treatment such as inhaled corticosteroids or bronchodilators, and changes due to disease activity.
Ensitrelvir, a 3C-like protease inhibitor, received emergency approval in Japan in November 2022 for treating non-hospitalized patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19. However, confirmation of its real-world clinical effectiveness is limited.