Flávio Sano

Prevalence and characteristics of exercise‐induced asthma in children

We have evaluated the prevalence and the characteristics of exercise-induced asthma (EIA) in a group of 71 patients with a prior history of mild, moderate or severe asthma (42 males and 29 females), aged 6-16 years-old. Measurements of the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) were obtained before and at regular intervals up to 8 hours following exercise. As a control, the same patients were evaluated at similar time intervals on another day when they had not been submitted to an exercise challenge. Using pre-exercise FEV1 values as the reference, 32 patients (45.1%) had a positive exercise challenge, defined as a fall in FEV1 value equal to or greater than 15% from baseline following exercise. Among the patients with a positive exercise challenge, the majority (23/32, 71.8%) had an immediate response alone, with no significant changes in FEV1 within the 8-hour follow-up. However, a subgroup of patients (9/32, 28.1%) had both an immediate and a late-phase response to exercise. During the control day, no significant fall in FEV1 were observed. In keeping with previous investigations, no correlation was found between a history of EIA and a positive exercise challenge in the present study. Positive exercise challenges were found more frequently among patients with moderate and severe asthma than patients with mild asthma.

[Effect of inhaled terbutaline sulphate (dry powder, Turbuhaler and nebulizer solution) in children with acute asthma].

Forty seven children (6-14 years), with an acute mild or moderate attack of asthma (clinical score 3 or FEV1 > 50% of the predicted), were treated with terbutaline sulphate, by inhalation route with a dry powder inhaler (Turbuhaler - 0,5 mg - group T; N=27, or by a nebulizer 1% solution-in saline-compressed air (6 l/min.) group S; N=20. The children were evaluated at 5, 15, 25 and 30 minutes after the initial treatment. In both groups a significant fall of the clinical score (starting at 15 minutes) (p < 0.05) and a significant improvement of the FEV(1), VC and FEF25-75% (starting at 5 minutes), were observed (p < 0.05). There were no significant changes in heart rates, respiratory rates and blood pressure (p > 0.05). At the end of the first treatment, the number of patients with a FEV(1) < 80% was similar in both groups (T = 13/27 and S = 10/20). The same treatment was repeated, and all the children showed a marked improvement, except for one boy of the group T was hospitalized. In conclusion, children with mild or moderate acute attacks of asthma can be treated up to a week with an inhalation of dry powder, resulting in adequate bronchodilatation without important side effects.

Conhecimento médico sobre as imunodeficiências primárias na cidade de São Paulo, Brasil

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate medical knowledge of primary immunodeficiency in the city of Sao Paulo (SP). METHODS: A 14-item questionnaire about primary immunodeficiency was applied to physicians who worked at general hospitals. One of the questions presented 25 clinical situations that could be associated or not with primary immunodeficiency, and the percentage of appropriate answers generated a knowledge indicator. RESULTS: Seven hundred and forty-six participated in the study, among them 215 pediatricians (28.8%), 244 surgeons (32.7%), and 287 clinicians (38.5%). About 70% of the physicians responded that they had learned about primary immunodeficiency in graduate school or in residency training. Treatment of patients that use antibiotics frequently was reported by 75% dos physicians, but only 34.1% had already investigated a patient and 77.8% said they did not know the ten warning signs for primary immunodeficiency. The knowledge indicator obtained showed a mean of 45.72% (±17.87). Only 26.6% if the pediatricians and 6.6% of clinicians and surgeons showed a knowledge indicator of at least 67% (equivalent to an appropriate answer in two thirds of the clinical situations). CONCLUSION: There is a deficit in medical knowledge of primary immunodeficiency in the city of Sao Paulo, even among pediatricians, despite having greater contact with the theme over the last few years. The improvement of information on primary immunodeficiency in the medical community is an important step towards the diagnosis and treatment process of these diseases.ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate medical knowledge of primary immunodeficiency in the city of Sao Paulo (SP). Methods: A 14-item questionnaire about primary immunodeficiency was applied to physicians who worked at general hospitals. One of the questions presented 25 clinical situations that could be associated or not with primary immunodeficiency, and the percentage of appropriate answers generated a knowledge indicator. Results: Seven hundred and forty-six participated in the study, among them 215 pediatricians (28.8%), 244 surgeons (32.7%), and 287 clinicians (38.5%). About 70% of the physicians responded that they had learned about primary immunodeficiency in graduate school or in residency training. Treatment of patients that use antibiotics frequently was reported by 75% dos physicians, but only 34.1% had already investigated a patient and 77.8% said they did not know the ten warning signs for primary immunodeficiency. The knowledge indicator obtained showed a mean of 45.72% (±17.87). Only 26.6% if the pediatricians and 6.6% of clinicians and surgeons showed a knowledge indicator of at least 67% (equivalent to an appropriate answer in two thirds of the clinical situations). Conclusion: There is a deficit in medical knowledge of primary immunodeficiency in the city of Sao Paulo, even among pediatricians, despite having greater contact with the theme over the last few years. The improvement of information on primary immunodeficiency in the medical community is an important step towards the diagnosis and treatment process of these diseases.

Doctors' awareness concerning primary immunodeficiencies in Brazil

BACKGROUND PIDs are a heterogeneous group of genetic illnesses, and delay in their diagnosis is thought to be caused by a lack of awareness among physicians concerning PIDs. The latter is what we aimed to evaluate in Brazil. METHODS Physicians working at general hospitals all over the country were asked to complete a 14-item questionnaire. One of the questions described 25 clinical situations that could be associated with PIDs and a score was created based on percentages of appropriate answers. RESULTS A total of 4026 physicians participated in the study: 1628 paediatricians (40.4%), 1436 clinicians (35.7%), and 962 surgeons (23.9%). About 67% of the physicians had learned about PIDs in medical school or residency training, 84.6% evaluated patients who frequently took antibiotics, but only 40.3% of them participated in the immunological evaluation of these patients. Seventy-seven percent of the participating physicians were not familiar with the warning signs for PIDs. The mean score of correct answers for the 25 clinical situations was 48.08% (±16.06). Only 18.3% of the paediatricians, 7.4% of the clinicians, and 5.8% of the surgeons answered at least 2/3 of these situations appropriately. CONCLUSIONS There is a lack of medical awareness concerning PIDs, even among paediatricians, who have been targeted with PID educational programmes in recent years in Brazil. An increase in awareness with regard to these disorders within the medical community is an important step towards improving recognition and treatment of PIDs.

Association between desloratadine and prednisolone in the treatment of children with acute symptoms of allergic rhinitis: a double-blind, randomized and controlled clinical trial

INTRODUCTION A combination of antihistamines and oral corticosteroids is often used to treat acute symptoms of allergic rhinitis. OBJECTIVE To evaluate safety and efficacy of desloratadine plus prednisolone in the treatment of acute symptoms of children (2-12 years) with allergic rhinitis, and to compare it to dexchlorpheniramine plus betamethasone. METHODS Children with moderate/severe persistent allergic rhinitis and symptomatic (nasal symptoms score [0-12]≥6) were allocated in a double-blind, randomized fashion to receive dexchlorpheniramine plus betamethasone (n=105; three daily doses) or desloratadine plus prednisolone (n=105; single dose followed by two of placebo) for 7 days. At the beginning and end of the evaluation, the following were obtained: nasal symptoms score, extra nasal symptoms score, peak nasal inspiratory flow, blood biochemistry, and electrocardiogram. Ninety-six children of the dexchlorpheniramine plus betamethasone group and 98 of the desloratadine plus prednisolone group completed the protocol. RESULTS The two groups were similar regarding initial and final nasal symptoms scores, extra nasal symptoms scores and peak nasal inspiratory flow. A drop of 76.4% and 79.1% for nasal symptoms score, 86.0% and 79.2% for extra nasal symptoms score, as well as an increase of 25.2% and 24.3% for peak nasal inspiratory flow occurred for those treated with desloratadine plus prednisolone and dexchlorpheniramine plus betamethasone, respectively. There were no significant changes in blood chemistry. Sinus tachycardia was the most frequent electrocardiogram change, but with no clinical significance. Drowsiness was reported significantly more often among those of dexchlorpheniramine plus betamethasone group (17.14%×8.57%, respectively). CONCLUSION The desloratadine plus prednisolone combination was able to effectively control acute symptoms of rhinitis in children, improving symptoms and nasal function. Compared to the dexchlorpheniramine plus betamethasone combination, it showed similar clinical action, but with a lower incidence of adverse events and higher dosing convenience.

Increased sensitization to several allergens over a 12-year period in Brazilian children

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Mometasone furoate in the treatment of mild, moderate, or severe persistent allergic rhinitis: a non-inferiority study (PUMA).

INTRODUCTION Allergic rhinitis is considered the most prevalent respiratory disease in Brazil and worldwide, with great impact on quality of life, affecting social life, sleep, and also performance at school and at work. OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy and safety of two formulations containing mometasone furoate in the treatment of mild, moderate, or severe persistent allergic rhinitis after four weeks of treatment. METHODS Phase III, randomized, non-inferiority, national, open study comparing mometasone furoate in two presentations (control drug and investigational drug). The primary endpoint was the percentage of patients with reduction of at least 0.55 in nasal index score (NIS) after four weeks of treatment. Secondary outcomes included total nasal index score score after four and 12 weeks of treatment; individual scores for symptoms of nasal obstruction, rhinorrhea, sneezing, and nasal pruritus; as well as score for pruritus, lacrimation, and ocular redness after four and 12 weeks of treatment. The study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov with the reference number NCT01372865. RESULTS The efficacy primary analysis demonstrated non-inferiority of the investigational drug in relation to the control drug, since the upper limit of the confidence interval (CI) of 95% for the difference between the success rates after four weeks of treatment (12.6%) was below the non-inferiority margin provided during the determination of the sample size (13.7%). Adverse events were infrequent and with mild intensity in most cases. CONCLUSION The efficacy and safety of investigational drug in the treatment of persistent allergic rhinitis were similar to the reference product, demonstrating its non-inferiority.

Duration of bronchodilator effect of inhaled Salmeterol (dry powder x metered dose inhaler) in children with acute asthma attack

Patients during a mild to moderate acute attack of asthma (FEV1: 50 - 80% of predicted) were treated with Salmeterol MDI - 50mcg or Rotadisk - 50mcg or Salbutamol (MDI -200mcg). The children were followed by Spirometry, measuring FEV1 (basal) and after treatment: at 30 minutes, 60 minutes and thereafter every 60 minutes until 780 minutes, if the patients maintained the FEV1 above 80% of the predicted value and/or an increment of 20% in the VEF1 basal value. The Salmeterol group showed a significant bronchodilation at 60 minutes which was maintained in half of the patients up to 9 hours. This was not observed in the Salbutamol group: the peak bronchodilatation was observed at 30 minutes and the bronchodilation effect was observed in half of the patients up to 6 hours. There were no significant differences between both presentations of Salmeterol. This drug allowed a prolonged bronchodilator effect and is, according to the several consensus on management of asthma, an adequate option in the treatment of moderate to severe asthma.

Comparative Multicentric Double-Blind Study between Dexchlorpheniramine and Astemizole in the Treatment of Children with Perennial Allergic Rhinitis

Fifty-eight children with perennial allergic rhinitis from university centers (SP, RJ, PR—Brazil) were divided into two groups of 29 children each and received, in a double-blind test, astemizole (A) or dexchlorpheniramine (D) for 28 days. Age, sex, time of disease, and characteristics of the initial physical examination were similar in both groups. The improvement of coryza and nasal and eye itching was similar in both groups. Significantly better responses were observed in the children treated with A in relation to sneezing, watering eyes, and nasal obstruction. The increase of appetite and weight was similar in groups A and D. Drowsiness was significantly higher in group D. There was no difference in blood and urine analyses in both groups. In the global evaluation done by the physicians, group A improvement was significantly better on the 21st day of treatment. We conclude that there was a better therapeutic response, with longer duration of action and less drowsiness, in the children treated with astemizole.