Philip Chetcuti

School age outcome of hospitalisation with respiratory syncytial virus infection of prematurely born infants.

Background: Hospitalisation due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in the first 2 years after birth has been associated with increased healthcare utilisation and associated costs up to 5 years of age in children born prematurely at less than 32 weeks of gestation who developed bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). A study was undertaken to determine whether hospitalisation due to RSV infection in the first 2 years was associated with increased morbidity and lung function abnormalities in such children at school age, and if any effects were influenced by age. Methods: Healthcare utilisation and cost of care in years 5–7 were reviewed in 147 children and changes in healthcare utilisation between 0 and 8 years were assessed also using results from two previous studies. At age 8–10 years, 77 children had their lung function assessed and bronchial hyper-responsiveness determined. Results: Children hospitalised with RSV infection (n = 25) in the first 2 years had a greater cost of care related to outpatient attendance than those with a non-respiratory or no admission (n = 72) when aged 5–7 years (p = 0.008). At 8–10 years of age, children hospitalised with RSV infection (n = 14) had lower forced expiratory volume in 0.75 s (FEV0.75) (p = 0.015), FEV0.75/forced vital capacity (p = 0.027) and flows at 50% (p = 0.034) and 75% (p = 0.006) of vital capacity than children hospitalised for non-RSV causes (n = 63). Healthcare utilisation decreased with increasing age regardless of RSV hospitalisation status. Conclusions: In prematurely born children who had BPD, hospitalisation due to RSV infection in the first 2 years is associated with reduced airway calibre at school age.

Evaluation of asthma control, parents’ quality of life and preference between AeroChamber Plus and AeroChamber Plus Flow-Vu spacers in young children with asthma

Abstract Objective: The AeroChamber Plus (AC) valved holding chamber has been enhanced to include the Flow-Vu (FV) inspiratory flow indicator that provides visual inhalation feedback during use. We have investigated if FV alters asthma control and whether parents accept it. Methods: At visit 1, children with asthma, age 1–5 years, used an AC with their pressurised metered dose inhaler and 2 weeks later (visit 2) they were randomised to use either AC or FV. Subjects returned 6 (visit 3) and 12 (visit 4) weeks later. The Asthma Control (ACQ) and Paediatric Asthma Caregiver’s Quality of Life (PACQLQ) questionnaires were scored at each visit, and their peak inhalation flow (PIF) when they used their spacer was measured. Results: Forty participants in each group completed the study. There was no difference in the ACQ scores from visits 2 to 4 between the two groups. The improvements in the PACQLQ scores were greater in the FV group (p = 0.029). The mean difference (95% confidence interval) for the change from visits 2 to 4 between FV and AC groups was 0.05 (−0.33, 0.43) and 0.39 (0.035, 0.737) for the ACQ and PACQLQ, respectively. Most parents preferred the FV (p < 0.001). There was no difference in the PIF rates at each visit and between the two spacers. Conclusions: There was no change in asthma control of the young children but that of their parents improved. Parents preferred the FV and this could be related to their improved perception of their children’s asthma control by better PACQLQ scores.

Saline in Acute Bronchiolitis RCT and Economic evaluation: hypertonic saline in acute bronchiolitis – randomised controlled trial and systematic review

BACKGROUND Acute bronchiolitis is the most common cause of hospitalisation in infancy. Supportive care and oxygen are the cornerstones of management. A Cochrane review concluded that the use of nebulised 3% hypertonic saline (HS) may significantly reduce the duration of hospitalisation. OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that HS reduces the time to when infants were assessed as being fit for discharge, defined as in air with saturations of > 92% for 6 hours, by 25%. DESIGN Parallel-group, pragmatic randomised controlled trial, cost-utility analysis and systematic review. SETTING Ten UK hospitals. PARTICIPANTS Infants with acute bronchiolitis requiring oxygen therapy were allocated within 4 hours of admission. INTERVENTIONS Supportive care with oxygen as required, minimal handling and fluid administration as appropriate to the severity of the disease, 3% nebulised HS every ± 6 hours. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The trial primary outcome was time until the infant met objective discharge criteria. Secondary end points included time to discharge and adverse events. The costs analysed related to length of stay (LoS), readmissions, nebulised saline and other NHS resource use. Quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were estimated using an existing utility decrement derived for hospitalisation in children, together with the time spent in hospital in the trial. DATA SOURCES We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and other databases from inception or from 2010 onwards, searched ClinicalTrials.gov and other registries and hand-searched Chest, Paediatrics and Journal of Paediatrics to January 2015. REVIEW METHODS We included randomised/quasi-randomised trials which compared HS versus saline (± adjunct treatment) or no treatment. We used a fixed-effects model to combine mean differences for LoS and assessed statistical heterogeneity using the I (2) statistic. RESULTS The trial randomised 158 infants to HS (n = 141 analysed) and 159 to standard care (n = 149 analysed). There was no difference between the two arms in the time to being declared fit for discharge [median 76.6 vs. 75.9 hours, hazard ratio (HR) 0.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.75 to 1.20] or to actual discharge (median 88.5 vs. 88.7 hours, HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.76 to 1.23). There was no difference in adverse events. One infant developed bradycardia with desaturation associated with HS. Mean hospital costs were £2595 and £2727 for the control and intervention groups, respectively (p = 0.657). Incremental QALYs were 0.0000175 (p = 0.757). An incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of £7.6M per QALY gained was not appreciably altered by sensitivity analyses. The systematic review comprised 15 trials (n = 1922) including our own. HS reduced the mean LoS by -0.36 days (95% CI -0.50 to -0.22 days). High levels of heterogeneity (I (2) = 78%) indicate that the result should be treated cautiously. CONCLUSIONS In this trial, HS had no clinical benefit on LoS or readiness for discharge and was not a cost-effective treatment for acute bronchiolitis. Claims that HS achieves small reductions in LoS must be treated with scepticism. FUTURE WORK Well-powered randomised controlled trials of high-flow oxygen are needed. STUDY REGISTRATION This study is registered as NCT01469845 and CRD42014007569. FUNDING DETAILS This project was funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 19, No. 66. See the HTA programme website for further project information.

Vascular ring diagnosis following respiratory arrest

Vascular rings can present with non-specific respiratory and/or oesophageal symptoms. Early diagnosis requires a high index of suspicion. This case report describes an uncommon acute presentation of a vascular ring. We report a thriving 14-month-old child with a long history of recurrent wheeze and ‘noisy breathing’. He presented acutely with food bolus impaction in the oesophagus which led to a respiratory arrest. Oesophagoscopy and bronchoscopy suggested vascular ring anomaly. A contrast-enhanced CT scan demonstrated a right-sided aortic arch with left ligamentum arteriosum encircling the oesophagus and airway. The ligament was ligated and divided. At follow-up 6 months later, the infant had mild persistent stridor but was otherwise well.

Prenatally diagnosed congenital lung malformations-A long-term outcome study

To report the natural history of a cohort of children with prenatally diagnosed congenital lung malformations (CLM) which we set out to manage expectantly.