Cost-effectiveness of therapeutic infant formulas for cow's milk protein allergy management.

Cow's milk protein allergy (CMPA) is children's most common food allergy. Therapeutic infant formulas for CMPA lead to symptom-free and potentially benefit early tolerance induction and reducing the allergic march in non-breastfed babies. This study assessed the cost-effectiveness of CMPA management with different therapeutic infant formulas in Thailand, which may reflect situations in developing countries throughout Asia. An analytic decision model was developed to simulate the occurrence of eczema, urticaria, asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, or being symptom-free in infants with CMPA over 36 months. Extensively hydrolyzed casein formula with added probiotic Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus (previously Lactobacillus rhamnosus) strain GG (EHCF+LGG), extensively hydrolyzed whey formula (EHWF), soy protein-based formula (SPF), and amino acid formula (AAF) were compared from the healthcare payer perspective. The results from a prospective cohort study were used for comparative effectiveness measures, while local experts were interviewed to estimate the healthcare resource used in the management of CMPA. The costs of healthcare resources were obtained from standard, publicly available sources. The direct medical cost of CMPA management was lowest for EHCF+LGG (USD 1,720), followed by SPF (USD 2,090), EHWF (USD 2,791), and AAF (USD 7,881). Compared with other formulas, EHCF+LGG was expected to save USD 370 (SPF), USD 1,071 (EHWF), and USD 6,161 (AAF) in the total cost of CMPA management over 36 months. In conclusion, EHCF+LGG was the most cost-effective strategy for managing non-breastfed infants with CMPA. This strategy was associated with more children developing immune tolerance to cow's milk and being symptom-free, contributing to overall cost-saving potential.

A potential role for interleukin-33 and γ-epithelium sodium channel in the pathogenesis of human malaria associated lung injury.

BACKGROUND: The pathogenesis of pulmonary oedema (PE) in patients with severe malaria is still unclear. It has been hypothesized that lung injury depends, in addition to microvascular obstruction, on an increased pulmonary capillary pressure and altered alveolar-capillary membrane permeability, causing pulmonary fluid accumulation. METHODS: This study compared the histopathological features of lung injury in Southeast Asian patients (n = 43) who died from severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria, and correlated these with clinical history in groups with or without PE. To investigate the expression of mediators that may influence fluid accumulation in PE, immunohistochemistry and image analysis were performed on controls and sub-sets of patient with or without PE. RESULTS: The expression of leukocyte sub-set antigens, bronchial interleukin (IL)-33, γ-epithelium sodium channel (ENaC), aquaporin (AQP)-1 and -5, and control cytokeratin staining was quantified in the lung tissue of severe malaria patients. Bronchial IL-33 expression was significantly increased in severe malaria patients with PE. Malaria patients with shock showed significantly increased bronchial IL-33 compare to other clinical manifestations. Bronchial IL-33 levels were positively correlated with CD68+ monocyte and elastase + neutrophil, septal congestion and hyaline membrane formation. Moreover, the expression of both vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) and bronchial γ-ENaC significantly decreased in severe malaria patients with PE. Both VSMC and bronchial γ-ENaC were negatively correlated with the degree of parasitized erythrocyte sequestration, alveolar thickness, alveolar expansion score, septal congestion score, and malarial pigment score. In contrast AQP-1 and -5 and pan cytokeratin levels were similar between groups. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that IL-33 may play a role in lung injury during severe malaria and lead to PE. Both VSMC and bronchial γ-ENaC downregulation may explain pulmonary fluid disturbances and participate in PE pathogenesis in severe malaria patients.

The clinical implications of thrombocytopenia in adults with severe falciparum malaria: a retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND: Thrombocytopenia is a common finding in adults with severe falciparum malaria, but its clinical and prognostic utility is incompletely defined. METHODS: Clinical and laboratory data from 647 adults with severe falciparum malaria were analysed retrospectively to determine the relationship between a patient's platelet count on admission to hospital and their subsequent clinical course. RESULTS: On admission, 614 patients (94.9%) were thrombocytopenic (platelet count <150 × 10(9)/L) and 328 (50.7%) had a platelet count <50 × 10(9)/L. The admission platelet count was inversely correlated with parasite biomass (estimated from plasma PfHRP2 concentrations, rs = -0.28, P = 0.003), the degree of microvascular sequestration (measured with orthogonal polarizing spectral imaging, rs = -0.31, P = 0.001) and disease severity (the number of World Health Organization severity criteria satisfied by the patient, rs = -0.21, P <0.001). Platelet counts were lower on admission in the patients who died (median: 30 (interquartile range 22 to 52) × 10(9)/L versus 50 (34 to 78) × 10(9)/L in survivors; P <0.001), but did not predict outcome independently from other established laboratory and clinical prognostic indices. The 39 patients (6%) with profound thrombocytopenia (platelet count <20 × 10(9)/L) were more likely to die (odds ratio: 5.00, 95% confidence interval: 2.56 to 9.75) than patients with higher platelet counts, but these high-risk patients could be identified more rapidly with simple bedside clinical assessment. The admission platelet count did not reliably identify the 50 patients (7.7%) with major bleeding during the study. CONCLUSIONS: Thrombocytopenia is a marker of disease severity in adults with falciparum malaria, but has limited utility in prognostication, triage and management.

A clinicopathological correlation of the expression of the angiopoietin-Tie-2 receptor pathway in the brain of adults with Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

BACKGROUND: Plasma angiopoietin (Ang)-2 is associated with disease severity and mortality in adults and children with falciparum malaria. However the mechanism of action of the angiopoietins in fatal malaria is unclear. This study aimed to determine whether the expression of Ang-1 and Ang-2 and their receptor Tie-2 in cerebral endothelial or parenchymal cells was specific to cerebral malaria (CM), correlated with coma or other severe clinical features, and whether plasma and CSF levels of these markers correlated with the clinical and neuropathological features of severe and fatal malaria in Vietnamese adults. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry was performed for Ang-1, Ang-2 and Tie-2 on post-mortem brain tissue from fatal malaria cases and controls. Quantitative ELISA for plasma and cerebrospinal fluid levels of Ang-1, Ang-2 and Tie-2 was done to compare fatal cases with surviving patients from the same study. RESULTS: Immunohistochemistry revealed significant differences in expression in endothelial and parenchymal cells compared to controls. However there was no significant difference in expression of these markers on endothelial cells, astroglial cells or neurons between CM and non-cerebral malaria cases. Immunostaining of Ang-1, Ang-2 and Tie-2 was also not associated with Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocyte sequestration in the brain. However Ang-1 and Ang-2 expression in neurons was significantly correlated with the incidence of microscopic haemorrhages. Plasma levels of Ang-2 and Ang-2/Ang-1 ratio were associated with the number of severe malaria complications and were significant and independent predictors of metabolic acidosis and fatal outcome. CONCLUSIONS: The independent prognostic significance of Ang-2 and the Ang-2/Ang-1 ratio in severe malaria was confirmed, although immunohistochemistry in fatal cases did not reveal increased expression on brain endothelium in cerebral versus non-cerebral cases. Activation of the Ang-Tie-2 pathway in severe malaria is therefore related to acidosis, number of severity criteria and outcome, but is not a specific event in the brain during cerebral malaria.

Sequestration and microvascular congestion are associated with coma in human cerebral malaria.

The pathogenesis of coma in severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria remains poorly understood. Obstruction of the brain microvasculature because of sequestration of parasitized red blood cells (pRBCs) represents one mechanism that could contribute to coma in cerebral malaria. Quantitative postmortem microscopy of brain sections from Vietnamese adults dying of malaria confirmed that sequestration in the cerebral microvasculature was significantly higher in patients with cerebral malaria (CM; n = 21) than in patients with non-CM (n = 23). Sequestration of pRBCs and CM was also significantly associated with increased microvascular congestion by infected and uninfected erythrocytes. Clinicopathological correlation showed that sequestration and congestion were significantly associated with deeper levels of premortem coma and shorter time to death. Microvascular congestion and sequestration were highly correlated as microscopic findings but were independent predictors of a clinical diagnosis of CM. Increased microvascular congestion accompanies coma in CM, associated with parasite sequestration in the cerebral microvasculature.