Thomas Halvorsen

Pulmonary outcome in adolescents of extreme preterm birth: a regional cohort study

Aims: The pulmonary outcome of extreme prematurity remains to be established in adults. We determined respiratory health and lung function status in a population‐based, complete cohort of young preterms approaching adulthood. Methods. Forty‐six preterms with gestational age ±28 wk or birthweight ±1000g, born between 1982 and 1985, were compared to the temporally nearest term‐born subject of equal gender. Spirometry, plethysmography, reversibility test to salbutamol and methacholine bronchial provocation test were performed. Neonatal data were obtained from hospital records and current symptoms from validated questionnaires. Results: When entering the study at a mean age of 17.7 (SD: 1.2) y, a doctors diagnosis of asthma and use of asthma inhalers were significantly more prevalent among preterms than controls (one asthmatic control compared to nine preterms, all but one using asthma inhalers). Peak expiratory flow (PEF) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) were decreased and the discrepancies relative to controls increased parallel to increased severity of neonatal lung disease. Parameters of increased neonatal oxygen exposure significantly predicted FEV1. Adjusted for height, gender and age, FEV1 was reduced by a mean of 580 ml/s in subjects with a history of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Fifty‐six percent of preterms had a positive methacholine provocation test compared to 26% of controls.

Continuous Laryngoscopy Exercise Test: A Method for Visualizing Laryngeal Dysfunction during Exercise

Objectives/Hypothesis: To assess the diagnostic feasibility and patient acceptance of a new developed diagnostic test for exercise induced upper airway flow limitation.

Lung function after preterm birth: development from mid-childhood to adulthood

Background As a result of advances in perinatal care, more small preterm infants survive. There are concerns that preterm birth and its treatments may harm pulmonary development and thereby lead to chronic airway obstruction in adulthood. Objective To assess the development of spirometric lung function variables from mid-childhood to adulthood after extreme preterm birth. Methods Two population-based cohorts born at gestational age ≤28 weeks or with birth weight ≤1000 g performed lung function tests at 10 and 18 and at 18 and 25 years of age, respectively, together with matched term-born controls. The results are presented as z scores, normalised for age, sex and height. Longitudinal development was compared for groups born at term and preterm, split by a history of absence (n=20), mild (n=38) or moderate/severe (n=25) neonatal bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Results The preterm-born cohorts, particularly those with neonatal BPD, had significantly lower forced expiratory volume in 1 s and mid-expiratory flow than those born at term at all assessments (z scores in the range −0.40 to −1.84). Within each of the subgroups the mean z scores obtained over the study period were largely similar, coefficients of determination ranging from 0.64 to 0.82. The pattern of development for the BPD subgroups did not differ from each other or from the groups born at term (tests of interaction). Conclusions Airway obstruction was present from mid-childhood to adulthood after extreme preterm birth, most evident after neonatal BPD. Lung function indices were tracking similarly in the preterm and term-born groups.

Characteristics of asthma and airway hyper‐responsiveness after premature birth

Asthma‐like symptoms and airway hyper‐responsiveness (AHR) are frequently reported in children subsequent to premature birth and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). There is limited knowledge on the mechanisms underlying these respiratory manifestations. Generally, childhood asthma and AHR is described within a context of inheritance, allergy and eosinophilic airway inflammation, and often in relation to cigarette exposures. We investigated these factors in relation to current asthma and AHR in a population‐based cohort of 81 young people, born with gestational age ≤28 wk or birth weight ≤1000 g, and in a matched term‐born control population. In the pre‐term population, asthma and AHR were additionally studied in relation to neonatal respiratory morbidity. At follow up, more pre‐term than control subjects had asthma. Forced expiratory volume in first second (FEV1) was reduced, AHR was substantially increased, and the level of the urinary leukotriene metabolite E4 (U‐LTE4) was increased in the pre‐term population compared to the term‐born. In control subjects, asthma and AHR was associated with a pattern consistent with inheritance, allergy, airway inflammation, and cigarette exposures. In the pre‐terms, asthma and AHR was either unrelated or less related to these factors. Instead, AHR was strongly related to a neonatal history of BPD and prolonged requirement for oxygen treatment. In conclusion, asthma and AHR subsequent to extremely premature birth differed from typical childhood asthma with respect to important features, and AHR was best explained by neonatal variables. These respiratory manifestations thus seem to represent a separate clinical entity.

Neonatal bronchopulmonary dysplasia predicts abnormal pulmonary HRCT scans in long-term survivors of extreme preterm birth

Background: There is an increasing understanding that extreme preterm birth carries a risk of long-term pulmonary sequelae. A study was undertaken to investigate if, and in what way, neonatal factors were associated with subsequent abnormalities on pulmonary high-resolution CT (HRCT) scanning and if pulmonary function was related to these abnormalities. Methods: HRCT scanning and pulmonary function tests were performed less than 2 weeks apart in 74/86 eligible subjects (86%) born at a gestational age of ⩽28 weeks or with a birth weight of ⩽1000 g within a defined area in Western Norway in 1982–5 (n = 42) or 1991–2 (n = 32). Mean age at examination was 18 and 10 years, respectively. HRCT scans were interpreted by a paediatric radiologist blinded to the clinical data using a structured system allowing scores from 0 to 50. Results: Lung parenchymal abnormalities were found in 64 subjects (86%), the median (interquartile range) score being 3.0 (1.75–5.0) points. Prolonged neonatal requirement for oxygen treatment predicted poor outcome, and an increase of 100 days increased the average HRCT score by 3.8 points (p<0.001). There was also a positive association of the severity of pulmonary function abnormalities with the extent of HRCT abnormalities, exemplified by the relation between forced expiratory volume in 1 s and total HRCT score (β = −0.090; p<0.001). Conclusions: In area-based cohorts of long-term survivors of extremely preterm birth, prolonged neonatal requirements for oxygen treatment predicted subsequent structural abnormalities on HRCT scans and in pulmonary function, and these two outcome measures were interrelated.

High-resolution CT of the chest in children and young adults who were born prematurely: findings in a population-based study.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to use a scoring system for high-resolution CT in the evaluation of radiologic findings in young people born extremely preterm and to examine the reproducibility of this scoring system. SUBJECTS AND METHODS High-resolution CT of the lungs was assessed in 72 children born at a gestational age of < or = 28 weeks or with a birth weight of < or = 1,000 g within a defined region in western Norway in 1982-1985 (n = 40) or in 1991-1992 (n = 32). All images were analyzed by two pediatric radiologists using a scoring system in which a total of 14 features were assessed. RESULTS Sixty-three (88%) of the subjects had abnormal findings, the most common being linear opacities (n = 52), triangular opacities (n = 42), air trapping (n = 19), and mosaic perfusion (n = 10). Right and left lungs were equally affected. There were fewer abnormalities in the younger age group (born in 1991-1992). Intraobserver agreement and interobserver agreement were moderate (weighted kappa = 0.54 and kappa = 0.52, respectively). Fifty-six of the 72 children had a clinical diagnosis of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and the median total score and the median scores of the four most common findings were higher in the bronchopulmonary dysplasia group; however, the differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION High-resolution CT in young people of preterm birth revealed abnormal radiologic findings in 81.3% of the patients at age 10 years and 92.5% at age 18 years. Linear, triangular, and subpleural opacities were the most common. The reproducibility of the applied scoring system was acceptable.

Exercise induced dyspnea in the young. Larynx as the bottleneck of the airways.

BACKGROUND Exercise induced asthma may symptomatically be difficult to differentiate from exercise related obstruction in the upper airways, sometimes leading to diagnostic confusion and inappropriate treatment. Larynx accounts for a significant fraction of total airway resistance, but its role as a limiting factor for airflow during exercise has been hampered by lack of diagnostic tools. We aimed to study laryngeal function in exercising humans by transnasal laryngoscopy. METHODS Continuous video recording of the larynx was performed in parallel with continuous film recording of the upper part of the body and recording of breath sounds in subjects running to respiratory distress or exhaustion on a treadmill. RESULTS A successful examination was obtained in 20 asymptomatic volunteers and 151 (91%) of 166 young patients with a history of inspiratory distress or stridor during exercise. At rest, six patients had abnormal laryngeal findings. During exercise, a moderate or severe adduction of laryngeal structures was observed in parallel with increasing inspiratory distress in 113 (75%) patients. In 109 of these, adduction started within supraglottic structures, followed by adduction of the vocal cords in 88. In four patients, laryngeal adduction started in the vocal cords, involving supraglottic structures secondarily in three. CONCLUSION Larynx can safely be studied throughout a maximum intensity exercise treadmill test. A characteristic laryngeal response pattern to exercise was visualised in a large proportion of patients with suspected upper airway obstruction. Laryngoscopy during ongoing symptoms is recommended for proper assessment of these patients.

Health related quality of life after extremely preterm birth: a matched controlled cohort study

BackgroundThe majority of infants born before the last trimester now grow up. However, knowledge on subsequent health related quality of life (HRQoL) is scarce. We therefore aimed to compare HRQoL in children born extremely preterm with control children born at term. Furthermore, we assessed HRQoL in relation to perinatal and neonatal morbidity and to current clinical and sociodemographic characteristics.MethodThe Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ-PF50) and a general questionnaire were applied in a population based cohort of 10 year old children born at gestational age ≤ 28 weeks or with birth weight ≤ 1000 grams in Western Norway in 1991-92 and in term-born controls, individually matched for gender and time of birth. The McNemar test and paired t-tests were used to explore group differences between preterms and matched controls. Paired regression models and analyses of interaction (SPSS mixed linear model) were used to explore potential effects of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics on HRQoL in the two groups.ResultsAll 35 eligible preterm children participated. None had major impairments. Learning and/or attention problems were present in 71% of preterms and 20% of controls (odds ratio (OR): 7.0; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.2 to 27.6). Insufficient professional support was described by 36% of preterm vs. 3% of control parents (OR: infinite; CI: 2.7 to infinite). Preterms scored lower on eight CHQ-PF50 sub-scales and the two summary scores, boys accounting for most of the deficits in areas of behavior, psychosocial functioning and parental burden. HRQoL was associated with learning and/or attention problems in both preterm and control children, significantly more so in preterms in areas related to health and parental burden. Within the preterm group, HRQoL was mostly unrelated to perinatal and neonatal morbidity.ConclusionsHRQoL for children born extremely preterm, and particularly for boys, was described by parents to be inferior to that of children born at term, and sufficiently poor to affect the daily life of the children and their families. Learning and/or attention problems were reported for a majority of preterms, strongly influencing their HRQoL.

The outcome after severe bronchiolitis is related to gender and virus.

To cite this article: Mikalsen IB, Halvorsen T, Øymar K. The outcome after severe bronchiolitis is related to gender and virus. Pediatric Allergy Immunology 2012: 23: 391–398.

ERS/ELS/ACCP 2013 international consensus conference nomenclature on inducible laryngeal obstructions

Individuals reporting episodes of breathing problems caused by re-occurring variable airflow obstructions in the larynx have been described in an increasing number of publications, with more than 40 different terms being used without consensus on definitions. This lack of an international consensus on nomenclature is a serious obstacle for the development of the area, as knowledge from different centres cannot be matched, pooled or readily utilised by others. Thus, an international Task Force has been created, led by the European Respiratory Society/European Laryngological Society/American College of Chest Physicians. This review describes the methods used to reach an international consensus on the subject and the resulting nomenclature, the 2013 international consensus conference nomenclature. The condition leading to episodes of feeling like you cannot breathe now has a name: inducible laryngeal obstructions http://ow.ly/OMaNl