Environmental assessment and exposure reduction of cockroaches: a practice parameter.

This parameter was developed by the Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters, representing the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI); the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI); and the Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. The AAAAI and the ACAAI have jointly accepted responsibility for establishing "Environmental assessment and remediation: a practice parameter." This is a complete and comprehensive document at the current time. The medical environment is a changing environment, and not all recommendations will be appropriate for all patients. Because this document incorporated the efforts of many participants, no single person, including those who served on the Joint Task Force, is authorized to provide an official AAAAI or ACAAI interpretation of these practice parameters. Any request for information about or an interpretation of these practice parameters by the AAAAI or ACAAI should be directed to the Executive Offices of the AAAAI, the ACAAI, and the Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. These parameters are not designed for use by pharmaceutical companies in drug promotion. The findings and conclusions in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Moderate symptom-based exacerbations as predictors of severe claims-based exacerbations in asthma.

OBJECTIVES: Asthma exacerbations have well-established clinical and economic impact, yet lack consensus on characterization of an episode's severity. Asthma treatment guidelines outline the concept of a moderate asthma exacerbation; however, a clear definition that can be operationalized has not been proposed, METHODS: Adult asthma (ICD-9: 493.XX) patients, with at least 9 months of continuous enrolment in the Fallon Community Health Plan were included in the retrospective cohort study. Patients diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) or other lower respiratory tract conditions were excluded. The first reported asthma-related event following a 2-week symptom-free period was designated as the index event. Asthma-related events were categorized as (1) moderate exacerbations (symptom-based) or (2) severe exacerbations (claims-based). Timing between and temporal sequence of asthma-related events along with average costs were calculated, RESULTS: Of 3126 eligible patients, 55% reported an asthma-related event followed by a recurrent event(s). Moderate exacerbations followed by recurrent moderate exacerbations were most frequent (20%) with the shortest interval between exacerbations (mean: 83 days [SD 87]). Moderate exacerbations followed by severe exacerbations occurred in 16% of patients with an average of 176.74 (SD 176.94) days between events, CONCLUSIONS: Patient report of asthma bothersome enough to initiate contact with a clinician, but not requiring oral corticosteroid (OCS), is a definition for a moderate exacerbation that can be operationalized for research purposes. Further work is needed to demonstrate whether identification of moderate exacerbations will allow interventions that impact the frequency and timing of future exacerbations.

Air filters and air cleaners: rostrum by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Indoor Allergen Committee.

The allergist is generally recognized as possessing the greatest expertise in relating airborne contaminants to respiratory health, both atopic and nonatopic. Consequently, allergists are most often asked for their professional opinions regarding the appropriate use of air-cleaning equipment. This rostrum serves as a resource for the allergist and other health care professionals seeking a better understanding of air filtration.

Pest and allergen exposure and abatement in inner-city asthma: a work group report of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Indoor Allergy/Air Pollution Committee.

Our work group report details the importance of pest allergen exposure in inner-city asthma. We will focus specifically on mouse and cockroach exposure. We will discuss how exposure to these pests is common in the inner city and what conditions exist in urban areas that might lead to increased exposure. We will discuss how exposure is associated with allergen sensitization and asthma morbidity. Finally, we will discuss different methods of intervention and the effectiveness of these tactics.

Predictors of change in life skills in schizophrenia after cognitive remediation.

Few studies have investigated predictors of response to cognitive remediation interventions in patients with schizophrenia. Predictor studies to date have selected treatment outcome measures that were either part of the remediation intervention itself or closely linked to the intervention with few studies investigating factors that predict generalization to measures of everyday life-skills as an index of treatment-related improvement. In the current study we investigated the relationship between four measures of neurocognitive function, crystallized verbal ability, auditory sustained attention and working memory, verbal learning and memory, and problem-solving, two measures of symptoms, total positive and negative symptoms, and the process variables of treatment intensity and duration, to change on a performance-based measure of everyday life-skills after a year of computer-assisted cognitive remediation offered as part of intensive outpatient rehabilitation treatment. Thirty-six patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were studied. Results of a linear regression model revealed that auditory attention and working memory predicted a significant amount of the variance in change in performance-based measures of everyday life skills after cognitive remediation, even when variance for all other neurocognitive variables in the model was controlled. Stepwise regression revealed that auditory attention and working memory predicted change in everyday life-skills across the trial even when baseline life-skill scores, symptoms and treatment process variables were controlled. These findings emphasize the importance of sustained auditory attention and working memory for benefiting from extended programs of cognitive remediation.

Development of the pediatric environmental health specialty unit network in North America.

Training in environmental health in general, and pediatric environmental health in particular, is inadequate. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry began to develop pediatric environmental health specialty units (PEHSUs) after noting the dearth of practitioners who could evaluate and manage children with exposures to environmental health hazards. The Environmental Protection Agency subsequently joined in providing support for what has developed into a network of 13 PEHSUs in North America. PEHSUs provide services to families, act as consultants to clinicians and public agencies, develop educational materials, and respond to natural disasters, including hurricanes and wildfires. PEHSUs are relatively easy to organize and should be replicable internationally.

The health effects of non-industrial indoor air pollution.

BACKGROUND: There is growing public awareness regarding the risk associated with poor indoor air quality in the home and workplace. Because Americans spend approximately 22 hours every day indoors, susceptible individuals are at much greater risk of adverse health effects from chronic low levels of exposure to indoor air pollutants over time. Along with particulate matter, gases such as ozone, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide; microbial and chemical volatile organic compounds; passive smoke; and outdoor ambient air are the most common types of air pollutants encountered indoors. OBJECTIVE: To provide the allergists with necessary information that will assist them in making useful recommendations to patients seeking advice regarding indoor environmental triggers beyond traditional perennial allergens. METHODS: Review of the literature pertaining to indoor exposure and health effects of gaseous and particular matter. RESULTS: Indoor pollutants act as respiratory irritants, toxicants, and adjuvants or carriers of allergens. CONCLUSION: The allergist should be prepared to evaluate patient exposure to allergic and nonallergic triggers and understand how outdoor air pollution is affecting indoor environments. This requires being familiar with methodologies for monitoring and interpreting indoor air quality and interpreting results in the context of the patients exposure history and advising patients about rational environmental control interventions.

Symptoms versus neurocognition as predictors of change in life skills in schizophrenia after outpatient rehabilitation.

A growing body of literature has shown that neurocognitive deficits in schizophrenia account for 20-60% of the variance in measures of outcome, and in many studies are more closely related to outcome than symptoms [Green, M.F., Kern, R.S., Braff, D.L., Mintz, J., 2000. Neurocognitive deficits and functional outcome in schizophrenia: are we measuring the "right stuff"? Schizophr. Bull. 26(1), 119-136; Green, M.F., Kern, R.S., Heaton, R.K., 2004. Longitudinal studies of cognition and functional outcome in schizophrenia: implications for MATRICS. Schizophr. Res. 72(1), 41-51]. Most of these studies have been cross-sectional, few longitudinal studies have investigated the degree to which neurocognition and symptoms predict ability to benefit from outpatient rehabilitation, and no longitudinal studies use measures of everyday life skills that are performance-based. In the current study we investigated the relationship between five measures of neurocognitive function, crystallized verbal ability, visual sustained vigilance, verbal learning, problem-solving, and processing speed, and two measures of symptoms, total positive and negative symptoms, and change on a performance-based measure of everyday life skills after a year of outpatient rehabilitation. Rehabilitation consisted of both psychosocial and cognitive interventions. Forty-six patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were studied. Results of a linear regression model revealed that verbal learning predicted a significant amount of the variance in change in performance-based measures of everyday life skills after outpatient rehabilitation, even when variance for all other variables in the model was accounted for. Measures of crystallized verbal ability, sustained visual vigilance, problem-solving, processing speed and symptoms were not linked to functional status change. These findings emphasize the importance of verbal learning for benefiting from psychosocial and cognitive rehabilitation interventions, and suggest the development of alternative rehabilitation strategies for those who do not benefit.

Computer-assisted cognitive remediation in schizophrenia: what is the active ingredient?

An emerging body of research has shown that computer-assisted cognitive remediation, consisting of training in attention, memory, language and/or problem-solving, produces improvement in neurocognitive function that generalizes to untrained neurocognitive tests and may also impact symptoms and work functioning in patients with schizophrenia. The active ingredient of these interventions, however, remains unknown as control groups in these studies have typically included few, if any, of the elements of these complex behavioral treatments. This study compared the effects of an extended (12-month), standardized, computer-assisted cognitive remediation intervention with those of a computer-skills training control condition that consisted of many of the elements of the experimental intervention, including hours spent on a computer, interaction with a clinician and non-specific cognitive stimulation. Forty-two patients with schizophrenia were randomly assigned to one of two conditions and were assessed with a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery before and after treatment. Results revealed that cognitive-remediation training produced a significant improvement in working memory, relative to the computers-skills training control condition, but that there was overall improvement in both groups on measures of working memory, reasoning/executive-function, verbal and spatial episodic memory, and processing speed. Taken together, these findings suggest that specific practice in neurocognitive exercises targeted at attention, memory and language, produce improvements in neurocognitive function that are not solely attributable to non-specific stimulation associated with working with a computer, interacting with a clinician or cognitive challenge, but that non-specific stimulation has a salutary effect on neurocognition as well.

Health effects of mold in children.

Mold is ubiquitous, and exposure to mold and its products of metabolism is unavoidable, whether indoors or outdoors. Mold can produce a variety of adverse health outcomes by four scientifically validated pathophysiologic mechanisms: hypersensitivity, toxicity, infection, and irritation. Some adverse health outcomes have been attributed to mold for which mechanisms of injury are not well defined or are implausible. This article discusses these adverse health outcomes, focusing predominantly on those for which valid associations have been established.

Neurocognitive function in schizophrenia at a 10-year follow-up: a preliminary investigation.

INTRODUCTION: A wealth of evidence indicates that neurocognitive deficits are evident in patients with schizophrenia at both illness onset and after many years of treatment. Little is known regarding if or how these deficits change during the lifespan. The goal of the study was to evaluate changes in full-scale intelligence quotient and neurocognitive test performance over a 10-year interval in patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: Twelve patients were administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised as a measure of intellectual function and a neuropsychological test battery including measures of attention, verbal and non-verbal memory, language, visuospatial function, problem-solving, and motor function at entry to the study and at a 10-year follow-up. RESULTS: With the exception of performance on a measure of speeded motor sequencing, there was no significant decline in any of the measures at 10-year follow-up. Results from a measure of sustained auditory attention showed improvement at follow-up. DISCUSSION: These data support a neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia for young adult to middle-age patients by suggesting that neurocognitive deficits that emerge either before disease onset or early in the course of the illness remain stable as the patient ages. CONCLUSION: Overall, measures of intelligence quotient, as well as specific neurocognitive skills, do not decline over a 10-year period in at least a subgroup of patients with schizophrenia.

Association of asthma symptoms with peak particulate air pollution and effect modification by anti-inflammatory medication use.

Maxima of hourly data from outdoor monitors may capture adverse effects of outdoor particulate matter (PM) exposures in asthmatic children better than do 24-hr PM averages, which form the basis of current regulations in the United States. Also, asthmatic children on anti-inflammatory medications may be protected against the proinflammatory effects of air pollutants and aeroallergens. We examined strengths of pollutant associations with asthma symptoms between subgroups of asthmatic children who were on versus not on regularly scheduled anti-inflammatory medications, and tested associations for different particle averaging times. This is a daily panel study of 22 asthmatic children (9-19 years of age) followed March through April 1996 (1,248 person-days). They lived in nonsmoking households in a semirural area of Southern California within the air inversion mixing zone (range, 1,200-2,100 feet) with transported air pollution from urban areas of Southern California. The dependent variable derived from diary ordinal scores is episodes of asthma symptoms that interfered with daily activities. Minimum to 90th-percentile levels of exposures at the outdoor monitoring site were 12-63 microg/m(3) for 1-hr PM < 10 microm in aerodynamic diameter (PM(10)); 8-46 microg/m(3) for 8-hr PM(10); 7-32 microg/m(3) for 24-hr PM(10); 45-88 ppb for 1-hr O(3); 6-26 ppb for 8-hr NO(2); 70-4,714 particles/m(3) for 12-hr daytime fungi; and 12-744 particles/m(3) for 24-hr pollen. Data were analyzed with generalized estimating equations controlling for autocorrelation. There was no confounding by weather, day of week, or linear time trend. Associations were notably stronger in 12 asthmatic children who were not taking anti-inflammatory medications versus 10 subjects who were. Odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for asthma episodes in relation to lag 0 minimum to 90th-percentile pollutant changes were, respectively, 1-hr maximum PM(10), 1.92 (1.22-3.02) versus 0.96 (0.25-3.69); 8-hr maximum PM(10), 1.68 (0.91-3.09) versus 0.75 (0.18-3.04); 24-hr average PM(10), 1.35 (0.82-2.22) versus 0.80 (0.24-2.69); 1-hr maximum O(3), 1.28 (0.75-2.17) versus 0.76 (0.24-2.44); 8-hr maximum NO(2), 1.91 (1.07-3.39) versus 1.08 (0.30-3.93); 12-hr fungi, 1.89 (1.24-2.89) versus 0.90 (0.35-2.30); 24-hr pollen, 1.90 (0.99-3.67) versus 0.85 (0.18-3.91). Pollutant associations were stronger during respiratory infections in subjects not on anti-inflammatory medications. Although lag 0 1-hr maximum PM(10) showed the strongest association, the most robust associations were for lag 0 and 3-day moving averages (lags 0-2) of 8-hr maximum and 24-hr mean PM(10) in sensitivity analyses testing for thresholds. Most pollutant effects were largely driven by concentrations in the upper quintile. The divergence of exposure-response relationships by anti-inflammatory medication use is consistent with experimental data on inflammatory mechanisms of airborne pollutants and allergens.

A regional comparison of mold spore concentrations outdoors and inside "clean" and "mold contaminated" Southern California buildings.

A total of 625 buildings and outdoor locations in the San Diego, California, area were monitored using the Allergenco Sampl-Air MK-3 impaction sampler or the Zefon Air-O-Cell slit bioaerosol cassette. Locations were classified by rigid criteria as clean commercial, commercial with mold growth, clean residential, residential with water staining, and residential with mold growth. In addition, coastal and inland outdoor locations were measured. Seven categories (total spores, Ascospores/Basidiospores, Cladosporium, Smut/Myxomycetes-like, Aspergillus/Penicillium (AS/PE), Alternaria, and Unidentified/Other) were detected frequently enough that maximum likelihood estimate techniques could be used to determine distribution parameters and, thus, treat these as continuous variables. For total counts (no nondetectables) an analysis of variance was used to examine differences in location means. For the other categories Land's confidence limits were generated and visually compared for differences among locations. For 12 other categories (Curvularia, Dreschlera, Epicoccum, Fusarium, Mildew-like, Pithomyces, Rusts, Stachybotrys, Stemphyllium, Torula, Ulocladium, and Zygomycetes-like), detection generally occurred in less than 10% of samples. These genera were treated as dichotomous (detect/nondetect) data, and Chi-square analyses differentiated between locations. For total counts, values were significantly different on the order of clean < outdoor < moldy. There was a large difference between the moldy and other location classes. For AS/PE, moldy location means were clearly higher than those for clean buildings and outdoors, although the clean and outdoor means could not be differentiated. For all other genera the results tend to indicate little or no ability to discriminate location. For example, there were no differences in the probabilities of detecting Stachybotrys among the various locations. In our study only total counts, usually driven by AS/PE concentrations, had value in determining whether a building is mold contaminated employing our set of rigorous location classification criteria.

Clinical use of immunoassays in assessing exposure to fungi and potential health effects related to fungal exposure.

OBJECTIVE: To review and summarize current evidence regarding the proper role of immunoassays in clinical assessments of exposure to fungi and health effects related to fungal exposure. DATA SOURCES: We reviewed relevant scientific investigations and previously published reviews concerning this topic. STUDY SELECTION: The authors' clinical, laboratory, and public health experiences were used to evaluate relevant data for scientific merit. RESULTS: Testing to determine the presence of IgE to specific fungi may be a useful component of a complete clinical evaluation in the diagnosis of illnesses that can be caused by immediate hypersensitivity such as allergic rhinitis and asthma. Detection of IgG to specific fungi has been used as a marker of exposure to agents that may cause illnesses such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis. However, the ubiquitous nature of many fungi and the lack of specificity of fungal antigens limit the usefulness of these types of tests in the evaluation of potential building-related illness and fungal exposure. Specific serologic tests (such as tests for cryptococcal antigen, coccidioidal antibody, and Histoplasma antigen) have been shown to be useful in the diagnosis of some fungal infections, but these are the exception not the rule. CONCLUSIONS: There is currently not enough scientific evidence to support the routine clinical use of immunoassays as a primary means of assessing environmental fungal exposure or health effects related to fungal exposure. Health care providers who care for persons expressing concerns about the relationship of symptoms to potential exposure to fungi are advised to use immunoassay results with care and only as an adjunct to a comprehensive approach to patient care.