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To better characterise prematurity-associated lung disease, adult spirometry phenotype classifications (obstructive lung disease, preserved ratio impaired spirometry and dysanapsis) have been applied to children born preterm. It is unknown how these phenotypes track over time.
Respiratory disease is a leading cause of hospitalisations in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Over 40% of individuals with CP are born preterm; however, the relationship between prematurity, CP and respiratory disease is unknown.
Functional studies of how early-life interventions shape the airway microbiome remain scarce. Here, we performed metagenomic sequencing of 704 longitudinal nasal swabs from infants with and without cystic fibrosis (CF) to construct and characterize a non-redundant gene atlas of the infant nasal microbiome. We aimed to determine how the nasal microbiome is perturbed by early therapies, as CF is commonly treated with inhaled hypertonic saline to improve mucociliary clearance.
The airway epithelium is the primary structural and functional airway barrier and orchestrates innate immunity. Some children may have underlying epithelial vulnerabilities that contribute to the pathogenesis of acute wheeze and asthma.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in the lungs affect millions of children and adults worldwide. To our knowledge, no clinically validated prognostic biomarkers for chronic pulmonary P. aeruginosa infections exist. Therefore, this study aims to identify potential prognostic markers for chronic P. aeruginosa biofilm lung infections.
Children with wheeze and asthma present with airway epithelial vulnerabilities, such as impaired responses to viral infection. It is postulated that the in utero environment may contribute to the development of airway epithelial vulnerabilities.
We present lung virome data recovered through shotgun metagenomics in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from an infant with cystic fibrosis, who tested positive for Stenotrophomonas maltophilia infection. Using a bioinformatic pipeline for virus characterization in shotgun metagenomic data, we identified five viral contigs representing Pseudomonas phages classified as Caudoviricetes.
The earliest respiratory function assessments, within or close to the neonatal period, consistently show correlations with lung function and with the development of asthma into adulthood. Measurements of lung function in infancy reflect the in utero period of lung development, and if early enough, show little influence of postnatal environmental exposures.
Bronchiectasis, particularly in children, is an increasingly recognised yet neglected chronic lung disorder affecting individuals in both low-to-middle and high-income countries. It has a high disease burden and there is substantial inequity within and between settings. Furthermore, compared with other chronic lung diseases, considerably fewer resources are available for children with bronchiectasis.
High frequency ventilation (HFV) in neonates has been in use for over forty years. Some early HFV ventilators are no longer available, but high frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) and jet ventilators (HFJV) continue to be commonly employed. Advanced HFOV models available outside of the United States are much quieter and easier to use, and are available as options on many conventional ventilators, providing important improvements such as tidal volume measurement and targeting.