Melatonin use in managing insomnia in children with autism and other neurogenetic disorders - An assessment by the international pediatric sleep association (IPSA).

Though it is widely prescribed for improving sleep of children with autism and other neurogenetic disorders, there is a need for practical guidance to clinicians on the use of melatonin for managing insomnia in this population. Because data were either lacking or inconclusive, a task force was established by the International Pediatric Sleep Association (IPSA) to examine the literature based on clinical trials from 2012 onwards. A summary of evidence pertaining to melatonin's utility and potential side effects, practice-related caveats, and insights for use are published herewith.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Pediatric Pulmonary Workforce: An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report.

Despite growing recognition of the need for increased diversity among students, trainees, and faculty in health care, the medical workforce still lacks adequate representation from groups historically underrepresented in medicine (URiM). The subspecialty field of pediatric pulmonology is no exception. Although there have been efforts to address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in our own field, gaps persist. To address these gaps, the members of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Group (DEI-AG) of the American Thoracic Society Pediatrics Assembly created and distributed a Needs Assessment Survey in the United States and Canada to better understand the racial and ethnic demographics of the pediatric pulmonary workforce and to learn more about successes, gaps, and opportunities to enhance how we recruit, train, and retain a diverse workforce. The DEI-AG leadership cochairs convened a workshop to review the findings of the DEI Needs Assessment Survey and to develop strategies to improve the recruitment and retention of URiM fellows and faculty. This Official ATS Workshop Report aims to identify barriers and opportunities for recruitment, training, and career development within the field of pediatric pulmonology. Additionally, we offer useful strategies and resources to improve the recruitment of URiM residents, the mentorship of trainees and junior faculty, and the career development of URiM faculty in academic centers. This Workshop Report is an important first deliverable by the DEI-AG. We hope that this work, originating from within the Pediatrics Assembly, will serve as a model for other Assemblies, disciplines across the ATS, and other fields in Pediatrics.

Quantitative assessment of nocturnal neural respiratory drive in children with and without obstructive sleep apnoea using surface EMG.

NEW FINDINGS: What is the central question of this study? Recent studies have suggested potential utility of non-normalized respiratory muscle EMG as an index of neural respiratory drive (NRD). Whether NRD measured using non-normalized surface EMG of the lateral chest wall overlying the diaphragm (sEMGcw) recorded during nocturnal clinical polysomnography can differentiate children with and without obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is not known. What is the main finding and its importance? Non-normalized sEMGcw was increased in children with OSA and an additional group of snoring children without OSA but subjectively increased respiratory effort compared with primary snorers. The sEMGcw has potential clinical utility in evaluation of children with sleep-disordered breathing as an objective, non-invasive, non-volitional marker of NRD. ABSTRACT: Our aim was to investigate whether neural respiratory drive measured by non-normalized surface EMG recorded from the chest wall overlying the diaphragm (sEMGcw) differentiates children with and without obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Polysomnography data of children aged 0-18 years were divided into the following three groups: (i) primary snorers (PS); (ii) snoring children without OSA but with increased work of breathing (incWOB; subjective physician report of increased respiratory effort during sleep); and (iii) children with OSA [obstructive apnoea-hypopnoea index (OAHI) >1 h-1 ]. Excerpts of sEMGcw obtained during tidal unobstructed breathing from light, deep and rapid eye movement sleep were exported for quantitative analysis. Overnight polysomnography data from 45 PS [median age 4.4 years (interquartile range 3.0-7.7 years), OAHI 0 h-1 (0.0-0.2 h-1 )], 19 children with incWOB [age 2.8 years (2.4-5.7 years), OAHI 0.1 h-1 (0.0-0.4 h-1 )] and 27 children with OSA [age 3.6 years (2.6-6.2 years), OAHI 3.7 h-1 (2.3-6.9 h-1 )] were analysed. The sEMGcw was higher in those with OSA [8.47 µV (5.98-13.07 µV); P < 0.0001] and incWOB [8.97 µV (5.94-13.43 µV); P < 0.001] compared with PS [4.633 µV (2.98-6.76 µV)]. There was no significant difference in the sEMGcw between children with incWOB and OSA (P = 0.78). Log sEMGcw remained greater in children with OSA and incWOB compared with PS after age, body mass index centiles, sleep stages and sleep positions were included in the mixed linear models (P < 0.0001). The correlation between sEMGcw and OAHI in children without OSA was small (rs  = 0.254, P = 0.04). The sEMGcw is increased in children with OSA and incWOB compared with PS.

Non-invasive assessment of exercise performance in children with cystic fibrosis (CF) and non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis: is there a CF specific muscle defect?

INTRODUCTION: Peripheral muscle dysfunction is increasingly recognized as complicating respiratory disease, but this is difficult to measure non-invasively. RESEARCH QUESTION: Can skeletal muscle function and efficiency be measured during exercise non-invasively using respiratory mass spectrometry (RMS); and is the known exercise dysfunction in cystic fibrosis (CF) children related in part to a disease specific defect of skeletal muscle, or a non-specific manifestation of chronic airway infection and inflammation. METHODS: Calculations of effective pulmonary blood flow and stroke volume, blood oxygen content and oxygen dispatch from the lungs, skeletal muscle oxygen extraction and consumption, anerobic threshold and capacity, and gross, net and work efficiency in 106 controls and 36 children (18 CF) with bronchiectasis, all aged from 8 to 17 years. RESULTS: Normal values for control subjects are tabulated. CF and non-CF bronchiectatic subjects had similar physiology, and skeletal muscle abnormalities could not be detected. Reduced oxygen dispatch from the lungs, due to an inability to raise stroke volume, without an increase in functional residual capacity was the major factor in reduced exercise ability. CONCLUSIONS: Non-invasive RMS can be used to determine skeletal muscle function in children. The changes observed in CF subjects were very similar to non-CF bronchiectatic subjects and thus a CF specific defect was not demonstrated.