OSA type-III and neurocognitive function.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) due to a hypertrophy of the adenoids and/or the tonsils in otherwise healthy children is associated with neurocognitive dysfunction and behavioural disorders with various degrees of hyperactivity, aggressiveness, sometimes evolving to a label of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Children with anatomical and/or functional abnormalities of the upper airways represent a very specific population which is at high risk of OSA (also called complex OSA or OSA type III). Surprisingly, the neurocognitive consequences of OSA have been poorly studied in these children, despite the fact that OSA is more common and more severe than in their healthy counterparts. This may be explained by that fact that screening for OSA and sleep-disordered breathing is not systematically performed, the performance of sleep studies and neurocognitive tests may be challenging, and the respective role of the underlining disease, OSA, but also poor sleep quality, is complex. However, the few studies that have been performed in these children, and mainly children with Down syndrome, tend to show that OSA, but even more disruption of sleep architecture and poor sleep quality, aggravate the neurocognitive impairment and abnormal behaviour in these patients, underlining the need for a systematic and early in life assessment of sleep and neurocognitive function and behaviour in children with OSA type III.

Paediatric melioidosis.

Melioidosis is a tropical infectious disease caused by the saprophytic gram-negative bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei. Despite the infection being endemic in southeast Asia and northern Australia, the broad clinical presentations and diagnostic difficulties limit its early detection, particularly in children. Melioidosis more commonly affects the immunocompromised and adults. Melioidosis is increasingly being diagnosed around the world and whole-genome sequencing indicates that these cases are not linked with travel to endemic areas. Research has concentrated on the adult population with limited experience reported in the care of this uncommon, but potentially fatal condition in children presenting with bacteraemia and pneumonia.

Assessment of obstructive sleep apnoea in children: What are the challenges we face?

There is an increasing demand for the assessment of sleep-disordered breathing in children of all ages to prevent the deleterious neurocognitive and behaviour consequences of the under-diagnosis and under-treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea [OSA]. OSA can be considered in three broad categories based on predominating contributory features: OSA type 1 [enlarged tonsils and adenoids], type II [Obesity] and type III [craniofacial abnormalities, syndromal, storage diseases and neuromuscular conditions]. The reality is that sleep questionnaires or calculations of body mass index in isolation are poorly predictive of OSA in individuals. Globally, the access to testing in tertiary referral centres is comprehensively overwhelmed by the demand and financial cost. This has prompted the need for better awareness and focussed history taking, matched with simpler tools with acceptable accuracy used in the setting of likely OSA. Consequently, we present key indications for polysomnography and present scalable, existing alternatives for assessment of OSA in the hospital or home setting, using polygraphy, oximetry or contactless sleep monitoring.

Neurodevelopmental outcomes of extremely preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) - A retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the neurodevelopmental outcomes for preterm infants born < 29 weeks gestation with/without bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). STUDY DESIGN: Preterm infants < 29 weeks' gestation born 2007-2018 in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, Australia, were included. Infants who died < 36 weeks' postmenstrual age and those with major congenital anomalies were excluded. Subjects were assessed at 18-42 months corrected age using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, 3rd edition. RESULTS: 1436 infants without BPD (non-BPD) and 1189 infants with BPD were followed. The BPD group, 69 % infants were discharged without respiratory support (BPD1), 29 % on oxygen (BPD2) and 2 % on pressure support/tracheostomy (BPD3). Moderate neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) was evident in 5.7 % of non-BPD infants, 11 % BPD1, 15 % BPD2, 15 % BPD3 infants. Severe NDI was seen in 1.7 % non-BPD infants, 3.4 % BPD1, 7.3 % BPD2, 35 % BPD3 infants. After adjusting for confounders, infants with BPD2 (OR 2.24, 99.9 % CI 1.25 to 5.77) or BPD3 (OR 5.99, 99.9 % CI 1.27 to 46.77) were more likely to have moderate-severe NDI compared to non-BPD infants. CONCLUSION: The majority of infants with BPD were discharged home without respiratory support and had better neurocognitive outcomes in early childhood compared to those that required home-based oxygen or respiratory support.

The infant with bronchopulmonary dysplasia on home oxygen: The oxygen weaning conundrum in the absence of good evidence.

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia [BPD] is the most common complication of extremely preterm delivery and its optimal management remains challenging because of a lack of evidence to guide management. There has been improvement in the management of evolving BPD in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The threshold for provision of home oxygen therapy, often occurring because of a preference for earlier discharge from the NICU, creates tensions for clincians and families. Once discharged in supplemental oxygen, the approaches for the weaning of this therapy vary considerably across the world. Regardless of guidelines and multidisciplinary team support, up to a third of families of an infant with BPD elect to withdraw home oxygen therapy independently of medical advice. There is a pressing need to derive evidence to better inform practice, generate international consensus and undertake large, appropriately funded, longitudinal studies of BPD with clinically meaningful outcomes (respiratory, cardiovascular and neurodevelopmental) from infancy to adulthood.

Pulmonary fibrosis treatment in children - What have we learnt from studies in adults?

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) in children is a rare complication of specific forms of childhood interstitial lung diseases (chILD) with extremely limited scientific evidence to guide optimal management. Whilst there continues to be significant progress in PF management for adult populations, paediatric guidelines have stagnated. New anti-fibrotic medications (nintedanib and pirfenidone) are finding regular use amongst adult PF patients but remain largely unstudied and untested in children. Although there are major differences between the two age-group populations, it is useful to learn from the evolution of adult PF management, especially in the absence of dedicated paediatric studies. Whilst there have been recent trials aimed at assessing the safety and efficacy of drugs such as nintedanib and hydroxychloroquine, there is still a dire need for more research aimed at further assessing current treatment practices and evaluating the safety and efficacy of new emerging treatments in the paediatric population.

Cough medicines for children- time for a reality check.

Cough medicines have been in use for over a century to treat the common and troublesome, but often helpful, symptoms of cough in children. They contain various combinations of "anti-tussive" drugs including opioids, antihistamines, herbal preparations, mucolytics, decongestants and expectorants. Whilst theoretically attractive for symptom relief when children are suffering, as time has passed these popular over the counter medicines have been shown to lack efficacy, delay more serious underlying diagnoses, and can cause complications and sometimes death. This has resulted in clinician concerns, a citizen petition to the American Food and Drug Association in 2007, some self-regulation from manufacturers and escalating restrictions on their use from regulatory agencies across the world over the last twenty years. This article will review the protective role of cough, juxtapose the conflicting treatment goals of suppressing a dry cough and promoting expectoration for a wet cough, consider the evidence basis for prescribing cough medicines in comparison to other more specific treatments such as for asthma [beta agonists] or infection [antibiotics], regulatory interventions, and conclude with the view that over counter cough medicines should not be used in children, especially young children.

Adherence in paediatric respiratory medicine: A review of the literature.

Poor adherence is an important factor in unstable disease control and treatment failure. There are multiple ways to monitor a patient's adherence, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. The reasons for poor adherence are multi-factorial, inter-related and often difficult to target for improvement. Although practitioners can implement different methods of adherence, the ultimate aim is to improve health outcomes for the individual and the health care system. Asthma is a common airway disease, particularly diagnosed in children, often treated with inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting bronchodilators. Due to the disease's tendency for exacerbations and consequently, when severe will require unscheduled health care utilisation including hospital admissions, considerable research has been done into the effects of medication adherence on asthma control. This review discusses the difficulties in defining adherence, the reasons for and consequences of poor adherence, and the methods of recording and improving adherence in asthma patients, including an in-depth analysis of the uses of smart inhalers.

Psychosocial needs and interventions for young children with cystic fibrosis and their families.

This review summarises the experiences of young children and their families living with CF during the first five years of life following NBS diagnosis, as well as the options of psychosocial support available to them. We present strategies embedded within routine CF care that focus on prevention, screening, and intervention for psychosocial health and wellbeing that constitute essential components of multidisciplinary care in infancy and early childhood.

Trials and tribulations of highly effective modulator therapies in cystic fibrosis.

Highly effective modulator therapies (HEMTs) have revolutionised the management approach of most patients living with cystic fibrosis (CF) who have access to these therapies. Clinical trials have reported significant improvements across multiorgan systems, with patients surviving longer. However, there are accumulating case reports and observational data describing various adverse events following initiation of HEMTs including drug-to-drug interactions, drug induced liver injury, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, and neurocognitive symptoms including psychosis and depression, which have required discontinuation of therapy. Current clinical trials are assessing efficacy in younger patients with CF, yet long-term studies are also required to better understand the safety profile in the real-world setting across all ages and the impact of HEMT dose alteration or discontinuation.

A systematic review on the use of bacteriophage in treating Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in cystic fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: Respiratory infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are a major concern for cystic fibrosis (CF) patients due to increasing antibiotic resistance. Bacteriophages, which are viruses that selectively target and kill bacteria, are being studied as an alternative treatment for these infections. This systematic review evaluates the safety and effectiveness of bacteriophages for the treatment of CF-related infections caused by S. aureus and/or P. aeruginosa. We conducted a search for original, published articles in the English language up to March 2023. Studies that administered bacteriophages via intravenous, nebulised, inhaled, or intranasal routes were included, with no comparators required. In vitro and in vivo studies were eligible for inclusion, and only animal in vivo studies that utilised a CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) animal model were included. Bacteriophage treatment resulted in a decrease in bacterial load in both humans and animals infected with P. aeruginosa. Complete eradication of P. aeruginosa was only observed in one human subject. Additionally, there was a reduction in biofilm, improvement in resistance profile, and reduced pulmonary exacerbations in individual case reports. Evidence suggests that bacteriophage therapy may be a promising treatment option for CF-related infections caused by P. aeruginosa and S. aureus. However, larger and more robust trials are needed to establish its safety and efficacy and create necessary evidence for global legislative frameworks.

Approaches to the management of haemoptysis in young people with cystic fibrosis.

Haemoptysis occurs in up to 25 % of young people with Cystic fibrosis (CF) [1]. We undertook a literature review and described the management approach to haemoptysis in CF between 2010 and 2020 at an Australian tertiary paediatric centre, The Children's Hospital Westmead, Sydney, New South Wales, using a retrospective review of the medical records which identified 67 episodes. Sixty episodes met inclusion criteria, including 31 patients. Using the US CF Foundation guidelines, episodes were classified as scant (53.3 %), moderate (38.3 %) or massive (8.3 %). Fifty-two percent of patients were female, mean age at presentation was 15.4 years (SD+/- 2.4) and 58 % were homozygous for the Fdel508 genotype. Twelve episodes (9 patients) required bronchial artery embolization (BAE). BAE was used in all cases of massive haemoptysis 5/5 (100 %), 6/23 (22 %) episodes of moderate and 1/32 (3 %) episode of scant haemoptysis as an elective procedure for recurrent haemoptysis. Our literature review and institutional experience highlights the need for up-to-date management guidelines in the management of haemoptysis in Cystic Fibrosis. Based on our experience, we provide a proposed algorithm to help guide the management of haemoptysis in CF.

Personalized tobramycin dosing in children with cystic fibrosis: a comparative clinical evaluation of log-linear and Bayesian methods.

BACKGROUND: Children with cystic fibrosis (CF) pulmonary exacerbations receive IV tobramycin therapy, with dosing guided by either log-linear regression (LLR) or Bayesian forecasting (BF). OBJECTIVES: To compare clinical and performance outcomes for LLR and BF. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A quasi-experimental intervention study was conducted at a tertiary children's hospital. Electronic medical records were extracted (from January 2015 to September 2021) to establish a database consisting of pre-intervention (LLR) and post-intervention (BF) patient admissions and relevant outcomes. All consecutive patients treated with IV tobramycin for CF pulmonary exacerbations guided by either LLR or BF were eligible. RESULTS: A total of 376 hospital admissions (LLR = 248, BF = 128) for CF pulmonary exacerbations were included. Patient demographics were similar between cohorts. There were no significant differences found in overall hospital length of stay, rates of re-admission within 1 month of discharge or change in forced expiratory volume in the first second (Δ FEV1) at the end of tobramycin treatment. Patients treated with LLR on average had twice the number of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) blood samples collected during a single hospital admission. The timeframe for blood sampling was more flexible with BF, with TDM samples collected up to 16 h post-tobramycin dose compared with 10 h for LLR. The tobramycin AUC0-24 target of ≥100 mg/L·h was more frequently attained using BF (72%; 92/128) compared with LLR (50%; 124/248) (P < 0.001). Incidence of acute kidney injury was rare in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: LLR and BF result in comparable clinical outcomes. However, BF can significantly reduce the number of blood collections required during each admission, improve dosing accuracy, and provide more reliable target concentration attainment in CF children.

The practicalities of providing expert evidence for the court.

The role of the expert witness is clear in the eyes of the court but that understanding is less consistent for the medical professionals who may be called on in this capacity. The fundamental key is the clinician's purpose in using their experience, knowledge and training as they provide the court with an unbiased assessment of the clinical issues that have arisen in the case. Using the Australian context, this article provides guidance for clinicians who are asked to provide the court with their expertise through written and spoken representations, drawing upon experience and the use of the "Expert Witness Code of Conduct".

Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy [SUDI]: What the clinician, pathologist, coroner and researchers want to know.

The loss of an apparently healthy infant is confronting for any family, puzzling for a clinician and challenging for the pathologist charged with the task of demonstrating a cause for death. The term "cot death" evolved to "sudden infant death syndrome" [SIDS] and now "sudden unexpected death in infancy [SUDI]" as the epidemiology and pathology of infant death changed. Community interventions were successful in changing sleep practices for young babies. The current research focus is on understanding genetic predispositions to unexpected death in early childhood. Whilst much has been achieved in reducing the infant mortality rate from SUDI by between 50%, and 80% in some countries, over the last 30 years, there remain challenges for improving rates of accurate diagnosis and reaching out to more vulnerable families with clearly modifiable risk factors for SUDI. These challenges directly involve the clinician through taking a systematic and detailed history and better standardised death scene evaluations with specifically accredited assessors. Better knowledge regarding circumstances of SUDI cases will help Coroners and researchers provide answers for grieving families now, and in the future contribute to further reductions in the rate of SUDI in communities across the world.

Regional oxygenation, perfusion and body and/or head position: Are preterm infants adversely impacted? A systematic review.

This review addresses regional oxygenation and perfusion changes for preterm infants and changes with body position, with or without head rotation. Future directions for improving neurodevelopmental and clinical outcomes are suggested. The MEDLINE, Embase and Scopus databases were searched up to July 2021. Fifteen out of 470 studies met the inclusion criteria. All were prospective, observational studies with a moderate risk of bias. Significant variation was found for the baseline characteristics of the cohort, postnatal ages, and respiratory support status at the time of monitoring. When placed in a non-supine position, preterm infants showed a transient reduction in cardiac output and stroke volume without changes to heart rate or blood pressure. No studies reported on long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes. Overall, side lying or prone position does not appear to adversely affect regional, and specifically cerebral, oxygenation or cerebral perfusion. The effect of head rotation on regional oxygenation and perfusion remains unclear.

Cheyne-stokes respiration in children with heart failure.

Cheyne-Stokes respiration (CSA-CSR) is a form of central sleep apnea characterized by alternating periods of hyperventilation and central apneas or hypopneas. CSA-CSR develops following a cardiac insult resulting in a compensatory increase in sympathetic activity, which in susceptible patients causes hyperventilation and destabilizes respiratory control. The physiological changes that occur in CSA-CSR include hyperventilation, a reduced blood gas buffering capacity, and circulatory delay. In adults, 25% to 50% of patients with heart failure are reported to have CSA-CSR. The development of CSA-CSR in this group of patients is considered a poor prognostic sign. The prevalence, progression, and treatment outcomes of CSA-CSR in children remain unclear with only 11 children being described in the literature. The lack of data is possibly not due to the paucity of children with severe heart failure and CSA-CSR but because they may be under-recognized, compounded by the absence of routine polysomnographic assessment of children with moderate to severe heart failure. Building on much broader experience in the diagnosis and management of CSA-CSR in adult sleep medicine and our limited experience in a pediatric quaternary center, this paper will discuss the prevalence of CSA-CSR, its' treatment options, outcomes in children, and the potential future direction for research in this understudied area of pediatric sleep medicine.

Update in management of paediatric primary spontaneous pneumothorax.

Paediatric spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) management continues to lack paediatric-specific guideline recommendations. There have been increasing reports of paediatric retrospective case studies supplemented by important well designed RCT (predominantly) adult studies. Taken together, these suggest that conservative management may have an increasing role to play in the management of PSP and that aspiration may have limited utility as a first line intervention. Our local experience, as part of a multicentre retrospective analysis and subsequent audit of management since, corroborates recent published data: it highlights an increasing trend towards conservative management in spontaneous pneumothorax with similar rates of recurrence, compared to intervention, and low use of aspiration with similarly low success rates. We have therefore updated our local practice guidelines and share these with readers. Specifically, we have removed aspiration in the management of primary spontaneous pneumothorax and reserved intervention for children who are clinically unstable or show evidence of increasing air leak irrespective of pneumothorax size. Whilst the success of this change in clinical practice will need to be reviewed in the next 5-10 years, the overall low incidence of the condition, demands a multicentre, and probably multinational, collaborative approach to allow the best chance of obtaining definitive evidence to guide clinical paediatric management.

Transition to adult care in cystic fibrosis: The challenges and the structure.

In developed countries, it is projected that there will be a 70% increase in the number of adults living with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) between 2010 and 2025. This shift in demographics highlights the importance of high-quality transition programmes with developmentally appropriate integrated health care services as the individual moves through adolescence to adulthood. Adolescents living with CF face additional and unique challenges that may have long-term impacts on their health, quality of life and life-expectancy. CF specific issues around socially challenging symptoms, body image, reproductive health and treatment burden differentiate people with CF from their peers and require clinicians to identify and address these issues during the transition process. This review provides an overview of the health, developmental and psychosocial challenges faced by individuals with CF, their guardians and health care teams considering the fundamental components and tools that are required to build a transition programme that can be tailored to suit individual CF clinics.

Blended and e-learning in pediatric education: harnessing lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Face-to-face education as the traditional basis for medical education was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic as learners and educators were moved online with little time for preparation. Fortunately, as online learning has grown, together with medical education shifting to problem-based and team-centered learning over the last three decades, existing resources have been adapted and improved upon to meet the challenges. Effective blended learning has resulted in innovative synchronous and asynchronous learning platforms. Clearly, to do this well requires time, effort, and adjustment from clinicians, educators, and learners, but it should result in an engaging change in teaching practice. Its success will rely on an evaluation of learning outcomes, educator and learner satisfaction, and long-term retention of knowledge. It will be important to maintain ongoing assessment of all aspects of the medical education process, including how to best teach and assess theory, physiology, pathology, history-taking, physical examination, and clinical management.Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic triggered emergency transitional processes for teaching and assessment in medical education which built upon existing innovations in teaching medicine with the use of technology. These strategies will continue to evolve so as to provide the basis for an enduring hybrid teaching model involving blended and e-learning in medical education.. What is Known: • Most pediatricians provide clinical teaching to medical students and residents, but few have had formal training in online educational approaches and techniques. • Being able to adapt to new and innovative integrated teaching methods is of key importance when becoming a competent teacher. What is New: • This review presents an up-to-date summary of best practice in blended and e-learning and how it may be optimally delivered. • Knowledge of the principles of e-learning, and how people learn more generally, helps pediatricians shape their clinical teaching and facilitates better interaction with medical students and residents.