Proficiency of Pediatricians in the Use of Inhaled Medication Delivery Systems for the Management of Asthma

Objective: To evaluate the proficiency of pediatricians in the demonstration of the proper use of metered-dose inhalers (MDIs) and to assess their theoretical knowledge of inhalation devices used in the management of asthma. Design: Prospective cross-sectional survey. Setting: Two university-affiliated hospitals. Participants: Seventy-one pediatricians and pediatric house staff. Intervention: Each pediatrician's technique was graded by two trained observers using a checklist of six essential steps recommended by national guidelines. Theoretical knowledge of asthma devices was evaluated by a written questionnaire. Results: Twenty (35.2%) pediatricians performed at least five steps correctly, 28 (39.4%) performed three or four steps correctly, and 18 (25.4%) performed two steps or less correctly. The most common errors were failure to start inhalation from functional residual capacity, failure to inhale slowly, and failure to wait at least 20 seconds before the next puff. Senior pediatricians were more skillful in the practical use of MDIs than were pediatric house staff (p = 0.03). The most common deficiencies in theoretical knowledge were related to estimation of the amount of medication in the canister (8.5% correct) and how valved holding chambers (VHCs) improve drug delivery to the lung (15.5% correct). Conclusion: Pediatricians in Kuwait have significant deficiencies regarding the practical and theoretical aspects of MDIs and other inhalation devices.     

Foreign body aspiration in children: diagnosis and treatment

A total of 235 children, aged between 7 months and 15 years had bronchoscopy on suspicion of foreign body aspiration. The histories of these patients were studied to examine the diagnostic value of symptoms, signs, and chest x-rays, and rate of negative bronchoscopy. The sensitivity of choking and coughing was high (82% and 80%), but the specificity was poor (37% and 34%). The sensitivity of a chest radiograph was 66%, the specificity was 51%. The sensitivity of asymmetric auscultation was 80% and specificity was 72%. The sensitivity and specificity of combination of symptoms, signs and abnormal chest radiograph was 61% and 83%, respectively. In 206 (87.7%) children a foreign body was identified and extracted. The remaining 29 patients (12.3%) had negative bronchoscopy. A wide variety of objects was recovered, the most common being seeds and peanuts. Foreign bodies were in the right and left main bronchus in 72 (35%), 50 (24.3%) cases, respectively, while in the remaining 84 cases, the foreign bodies were in other parts of the respiratory tree. In 204 (99%) patients with foreign body aspiration, the foreign bodies were removed successfully using a rigid bronchoscopy. Minor complications like subglottic edema and bronchospasm occurred in 4 children. In conclusion, rigid bronchoscopy is a safe procedure and the only tool that will give certainty about the correct diagnosis of foreign body aspiration in children. Asymmetric auscultation is more specific than history and chest radiograph. The combination of history, clinical signs and radiological signs are more specific than each one separately.     

Underlying causes of recurrent pneumonia in children

OBJECTIVES: To determine the relative frequency of underlying factors for recurrent pneumonia and the proportion of patients in whom the underlying illness diagnosis was known prior to pneumonia recurrence. METHODS: Retrospective medical record review for a 10-year period from January 1987 through December 1997 at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, a tertiary care pediatric hospital. Recurrent pneumonia was defined as at least 2 pneumonia episodes in a 1-year period or at least 3 during a lifetime. RESULTS: Of 2952 children hospitalized with pneumonia, 238 (8%) met criteria for recurrent pneumonia. An underlying illness diagnosis was identified in 220 (92%). Of these, the underlying illness was diagnosed prior to pneumonia in 178 (81%), with the first episode in 25 (11%), and during recurrence in 17 (8%). Underlying illnesses included oropharyngeal incoordination with aspiration syndrome (114 cases [48%]), immune disorder (24 [10%]), congenital cardiac defects (22 [9%]), asthma (19 [8%]), pulmonary anomalies (18 [8%]), gastroesophageal reflux (13[5%]), and sickle cell anemia (10 [4%]). Clinical clues to diagnosis were recurrent infections at other locations and failure to thrive in the cases of an immune disorder, recurrences involving the same location in those with underlying pulmonary pathology, the association of respiratory symptoms with feeding in those with gastroesophageal reflux, or recurrent wheezing in asthmatic children. CONCLUSIONS: Recurrent pneumonia occurs in fewer than one tenth of all children hospitalized with pneumonia. Most of them have a known predisposing factor. The most common cause was oropharyngeal incoordination.     

Prognostic value of treadmill exercise and dobutamine stress positron emission tomography

BACKGROUND:

Although positron emission tomography (PET) is routinely performed using vasodilator stress, exercise and dobutamine stress are available alternatives. Evidence suggests that vasodilator PET myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) has prognostic value, but the prognostic value of treadmill exercise and dobutamine PET MPI is unknown.

OBJECTIVE:

To determine the potential prognostic value of nonvasodilator stress PET MPI.

METHODS:

Patients underwent treadmill exercise or dobutamine PET MPI. Images were assessed qualitatively and semiquantitatively. PET results were categorized as normal (summed stress score [SSS] of less than 4), abnormal (SSS of 4 or greater) or inconclusive (SSS of less than 4 and submaximal peak stress heart rate). Patient follow-up (cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction [MI] and/or late revascularization) was performed.

RESULTS:

Of the 124 patients (mean follow-up period of 2.3±1.6 years), 46 patients (37%) had a normal study, 15 patients (12%) had an inconclusive study and 63 (51%) had an abnormal PET. Patients with a normal PET had no deaths or nonfatal MI. One patient with a normal PET underwent late revascularization (annual event rate of 1.7%). Patients with an abnormal PET had 15 cardiac events (one cardiac death, four nonfatal MIs and 10 late revascularizations), with an annual event rate of 13.0% (P=0.002).

CONCLUSIONS:

Although small, the present study suggests that defects seen on PET myocardial perfusion, resulting from stressors (treadmill exercise and dobutamine) that increase myocardial oxygen demand, may have prognostic value.     

An unusual case of hypertensive diastolic heart failure with bilateral subclavian artery stenosis

Severe stenosis or occlusion of the subclavian artery is a rare clinical finding, even more so for bilateral existence of the condition. Subclavian artery stenosis and occlusion leads to erroneously low blood pressure values when measured at the brachial artery on the ipsilateral side. Widespread clinical reliance on a sole brachial measurement of blood pressure, particularly in the emergency room setting, may result in inappropriate clinical management in patients with conditions that alter brachial blood pressure. Currently, there is no published English-language literature on the implications of bilateral subclavian artery stenosis and occlusion in heart failure. A case of an apparently hypotensive patient with frequent emergency room visits for symptoms of heart failure exacerbation is presented.     

Peginterferon alpha-2b plus ribavirin with or without amantadine [correction of amantidine] for the treatment of non-responders to standard interferon and ribavirin

BACKGROUND: A significant proportion of hepatitis C patients treated with unmodified interferon plus ribavirin fail to respond. The optimal therapy for these patients has not been established yet. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of peginterferon plus ribavirin with or without amantidine in such patients. METHODS: In this open-label, prospective controlled trial, a total of 63 patients were randomly divided into groups A and B with a ratio of 1:2. Group A (21 patients) received weekly peginterferon alpha-2b, 1.5 microg/kg concomitantly with ribavirin 1000-1200mg per day. Group B (42 patients) received peginterferon and ribavirin as in group A, plus amantadine [corrected] 200 mg per day. RESULTS: At the completion of treatment, serum levels of hepatitis C virus RNA were undetectable in 14% and 12% of patients in groups A and B, respectively (P=NS). Hepatitis C virus RNA remained undetectable 24 weeks after the end of treatment in one patient (5%) in group A and three patients (7%) in group B (P=NS). Sustained viral clearance was associated with sustained normalization of serum alanine aminotransferase level. Both drug regimens had similar side effect profiles. CONCLUSION: Peginterferon plus ribavirin therapy with or without amantadine [corrected] is associated with a low sustained virological response in patients who failed interferon and ribavirin combination therapy.