Blood eosinophil counts rarely reflect airway eosinophilia in children with severe asthma.

BACKGROUND: The inflammatory phenotypes of severe asthma in adults may be reflected in peripheral blood. If this were true in children with severe therapy-resistant asthma (STRA), invasive tests could be avoided. At the moment there is no conclusive evidence in children. METHODS: All patients underwent blood tests, exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), sputum induction, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and endobronchial biopsy (EB). RESULTS: Sixty-three (71.6%) patients had a normal blood profile and only 1/88 had a combined blood eosinophilia and neutrophilia. 76/88 (86%) had normal blood eosinophils, but of these, 84% had airway eosinophilia in either BAL (n = 43;66%) or EB (n = 41;79%). In children with STRA blood eosinophilia was associated with airway eosinophilia. However, normal blood eosinophil levels did not exclude airway eosinophilic inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: Peripheral blood counts are not reliable in characterising airway inflammation in severe asthmatic children exposed to high dose steroid therapy, therefore bronchoscopy with BAL should be considered.

Fitness to fly testing in term and ex-preterm babies without bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

BACKGROUND: During air flight, cabin pressurisation produces an effective fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO(2)) of 0.15. This can cause hypoxia in predisposed individuals, including infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), but the effect on ex-preterm babies without BPD was uncertain. The consequences of feeding a baby during the hypoxia challenge were also unknown. METHODS: Ex-preterm (without BPD) and term infants had fitness to fly tests (including a period of feeding) at 3 or 6 months corrected gestational age (CGA) in a body plethysmograph with an FiO(2) of 0.15 for 20 min. A 'failed' test was defined as oxygen saturation (SpO(2)) <90% for at least 2 min. RESULTS: 41 term and 30 ex-preterm babies (mean gestational age 39.8 and 33.1 weeks, respectively) exhibited a significant median drop in SpO(2) (median -6%, p<0.0001); there was no difference between term versus ex-preterm babies, or 3 versus 6 months. Two term (5%) and two ex-preterm (7%) babies failed the challenge. The SpO(2) dropped further during feeding (median -4% in term and -2% in ex-preterm, p<0.0001), with transient desaturation (up to 30 s) <90% seen in 8/36 (22%) term and 9/28 (32%) ex-preterm infants; the ex-preterm babies desaturated more quickly (median 1 vs 3 min, p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Ex-preterm babies without BPD and who are at least 3 months CGA do not appear to be a particularly at-risk group for air travel, and routine preflight testing is not indicated. Feeding babies in an FiO(2) of 0.15 leads to a further fall in SpO(2), which is significant but transient.

A fatal case of cough.

Dysfunctional swallowing is an uncommon, but important cause of bronchiectasis. We describe a child with a brainstem tumor, who developed bronchiectasis caused by chronic aspiration secondary to a dysfunctional swallow. The case highlights the importance of thorough and repeated evaluation before a diagnosis of idiopathic bronchiectasis is made. If dysfunctional swallow is found further investigation to ascertain the cause is indicated.

Corticosteroid responsiveness and clinical characteristics in childhood difficult asthma.

This study describes the clinical characteristics and corticosteroid responsiveness of children with difficult asthma (DA). We hypothesised that complete corticosteroid responsiveness (defined as improved symptoms, normal spirometry, normal exhaled nitric oxide fraction (F(eNO)) and no bronchodilator responsiveness (BDR <12%)) is uncommon in paediatric DA. We report on 102 children, mean+/-sd age 11.6+/-2.8 yrs, with DA in a cross-sectional study. 89 children underwent spirometry, BDR and F(eNO) before and after 2 weeks of systemic corticosteroids (corticosteroid response study). Bronchoscopy was performed after the corticosteroid trial. Of the 102 patients in the cross-sectional study, 88 (86%) were atopic, 60 (59%) were male and 52 (51%) had additional or alternative diagnoses. Out of the 81 patients in the corticosteroid response study, nine (11%) were complete responders. Of the 75 patients with symptom data available, 37 (49%) responded symptomatically, which was less likely if there were smokers in the home (OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.02-0.82). Of the 75 patients with available spirometry data, 35 (46%) had normal spirometry, with associations being BAL eosinophilia (OR 5.43, 95% CI 1.13-26.07) and high baseline forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1)) (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.02-1.12). Of these 75 patients, BDR data were available in 64, of whom 36 (56%) had <12% BDR. F(eNO) data was available in 70 patients, of whom 53 (75%) had normal F(eNO). Airflow limitation data was available in 75 patients, of whom 17 (26%) had persistent airflow limitation, which was associated with low baseline FEV(1) (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.90-0.97). Only 11% of DA children exhibited complete corticosteroid responsiveness. The rarity of complete corticosteroid responsiveness suggests alternative therapies are needed for children with DA.

Osteotomy in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the first carpometacarpal joint.

Degenerative changes of the first carpometacarpal joint commonly cause pain, weakness and adduction deformity. Many patients respond to conservative treatment, but in resistant cases an abduction wedge osteotomy of the base of the first metacarpal has been found to relieve symptoms with less complications than other operations. Twenty-one patients with 23 osteotomies have been reviewed, with a follow-up from 2 to 17 years. All have had lasting relief from pain and consider that they have full function, with no stiffness or limited abduction. Osteotomy is indicated mainly for cases where the arthritis is confined to the carpometacarpal joint, but also relieves pain in cases of peritrapezial arthritis.

The intermetatarsophalangeal bursa--its significance in Morton's metatarsalgia.

The intermetatarsophalangeal bursa was investigated by dissection, radiography and injection. In the web spaces between the second and third and the third and fourth digits the bursa lies superior to the transverse metatarsal ligament but projects distally to it, closely applied to the neurovascular bundle. Tissue from the web spaces of patients with classical Morton's metatarsalgia often shows lymphocytic infiltration, with additional fibrinoid necrosis of the bursal wall. It is suggested that inflammatory changes in this bursa could account for the pathological and histological findings in this condition. The bursa in the most lateral web space does not extend beyond the ligament and is not in contact with the neurovascular bundle, which may explain the rarity of symptoms in this space.