[Recommendation for standardized medical care for children and adolescents with long COVID]. / Einheitliche Basisversorgung von Kindern und Jugendlichen mit Long COVID: Stellungnahme einer multidisziplinären Arbeitsgruppe der DGKJ-Konvent-Gesellschaften (Stand: Februar 2022).

This current consensus paper for long COVID complements the existing AWMF S1 guidelines for long COVID with a detailed overview on the various clinical aspects of long COVID in children and adolescents. Members of 19 different pediatric societies of the DGKJ convent and collaborating societies together provide expert-based recommendations for the clinical management of long COVID based on the currently available but limited academic evidence for long COVID in children and adolescents. It contains screening questions for long COVID and suggestions for a structured, standardized pediatric medical history and diagnostic evaluation for patients with suspected long COVID. A time and resource-saving questionnaire, which takes the clinical complexity of long COVID into account, is offered via the DGKJ and DGPI websites as well as additional questionnaires suggested for an advanced screening of specific neurocognitive and/or psychiatric symptoms including post-exertional malaise (PEM) and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). According to the individual medical history as well as clinical signs and symptoms a step by step diagnostic procedure and a multidisciplinary therapeutic approach are recommended.

Glucose Tolerance in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis - Results from the German Cystic Fibrosis Registry.

BACKGROUND: Oral glucose tolerance (OGT) deteriorates progressively in cystic fibrosis (CF). Clinical registries provide a unique basis to study real-world data. PATIENTS & METHODS: OGT tests (OGTTs) documented in the German CF-registry in 2016 were classified according WHO, modified by ADA: normal glucose tolerance (NGT), indeterminate glycaemia (INDET), impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), IFG+IGT, diabetes mellitus (DM). To study the association with lung function, multivariable regression adjusted for age, sex, and CFTR mutation was performed. RESULTS: Overall, OGTT screening was done in 35% of CF patients ≧10 years. Of the 996 patients (46.4% females; median age (IQR): 19 (14-27) years) with evaluable OGTTs, 56.2% had either NGT or INDET, whereas 34% had a pre-diabetic OGTT (IFG; IGT; IFG+IGT) and 9.8% a diabetic OGTT. 7 patients had glucose tolerance abnormalities <10 years. DM was more common in females or patients with F508del homozygote mutation, whereas IFG was more frequent in males (all p<0.05). Nearly 75% of patients after transplantation and about half with enteral/parental nutrition and/or steroid use had either a pre-diabetic or diabetic glucose tolerance. In the adjusted model, age (p<0.001) and OGTT category (p=0.013) had both a significant impact on %FEV1. CONCLUSION: Our data of the German CF-registry highlights incidence of glucose tolerance abnormalities in second decade of life in CF patients. However, it also underlines the need for improvement of the documentation and/or performance of OGTT screening in real-world CF care. HINTERGRUND: Bei Mukoviszidose (zystischer Fibrose: CF) verschlechtert sich die orale Glukosetoleranz (OGT) im Krankheitsverlauf. PATIENTEN & METHODEN: OGT Tests (OGTTs), die 2016 im Deutschen CF-Register dokumentiert waren, wurden gemäß WHO (modifiziert nach ADA) kategorisiert: Normale Glukosetoleranz (NGT), intermittierende Glykämie (INDET), eingeschränkte Nüchternglukosetoleranz (IFG), gestörte Glukosetoleranz (IGT), IFG+IGT, Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Um den Zusammenhang mit der Lungenfunktion zu analysieren, wurde eine multivariable Regressionsanalyse adjustiert für Alter, Geschlecht und CFTR Mutation durchgeführt. ERGEBNISSE: Insgesamt wurden 35% der CF-Patienten ≥10 Jahre mittels OGTT gescreent. Von den 996 Patienten (46,4% weiblich, medianes Alter (IQR): 19 (14-27) Jahre) mit auswertbaren OGTTs hatten 56,2% entweder NGT oder INDET, wohingegen bei 34% ein prädiabetischer (IFG; IGT; IFG+IGT) und bei 9,8% ein diabetischer OGTT beobachtet wurde. Bei 7 Patienten zeigten sich vor dem 10. LJ Abnormalitäten im Glukosestoffwechsel. DM war häufiger bei Frauen und Patienten mit homozygoter F508del Mutation, wobei IFG öfters bei Männern vorlag (alle p<0,05). Ca. 75% der Patienten mit Transplantation und etwa die Hälfte der Patienten mit künstlicher Ernährung und/oder Steroidgabe hatten eine prädiabetische oder diabetische Glukosetoleranz. Das Alter (p<0,001) und die OGTT Kategorie (p=0,013) zeigten im adjustierten Modell eine signifikante Assoziation mit %FEV1. SCHLUSSFOLGERUNG: Unsere Daten unterstreichen das Auftreten von Abnormalitäten im Glukosestoffwechsel bei CF im 2. Lebensjahrzehnt. Jedoch weißt es auf die Notwendigkeit eines regelmäßigen Diabetesscreenings und/oder Dokumentation von OGTTs bei CF hin.

Gene therapy for cystic fibrosis lung disease: current status and future perspectives.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive genetic disease affecting > 70,000 individuals worldwide. Despite improvements in current therapies, most patients do not survive beyond their early 30s. After cloning of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) gene, there was considerable clinical interest in the possible therapeutic delivery of CFTR genes directly to the lung. Several clinical studies have since demonstrated proof-of-principle for correction of the underlying chloride defect in CF patients using viral and non-viral vectors. Inefficient gene transfer and host-antigen-specific immune responses caused by replication-deficient viral vectors have elevated non-viral approaches to becoming the field's most promising therapeutic contenders. Among these non-viral gene therapy vectors are cationic liposome/plasmid DNA complexes and compacted DNA nanoparticles carrying the CFTR gene, which have shown promise for the treatment of CF in phase I clinical trials. However, the levels of CFTR expression achieved in the respiratory epithelium were too low and only of limited duration. Improved strategies for efficient and prolonged expression of the transgene are therefore necessary. This review outlines the current repertoire of available gene vectors and discusses novel strategies to enhance the efficiency and selectivity of gene transfer for gene delivery into the lung.