Pediatric pulmonology
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Pediatric pulmonology · Dec 2003
Review Comparative StudyImpact of HIV on childhood respiratory illness: differences between developing and developed countries.
The main differences of the impact of HIV on childhood respiratory illness between developed and developing countries, and particularly some countries in Africa, are the scale of the problem and the lack of resources to address problems of prevention, diagnosis, and management. Recent data from HIV-infected African children are reviewed and show that the pattern of respiratory disease in these children is not markedly different to the pattern that was reported from the USA and Europe prior to the use of antiretroviral therapy and routine Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PCP) prophylaxis for HIV-exposed infants. Bacterial pneumonia is very common in all age groups. ⋯ One difference is that pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is relatively more common in HIV-infected African children. This is likely to reflect the higher prevalence of smear-positive PTB in the region and therefore of exposure/infection compared to developed countries. Autopsy studies have provided a lot of useful data, but more prospective clinical and intervention studies from different parts of the region are needed in order to improve clinical diagnosis and management.
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Pediatric pulmonology · Jun 2003
ReviewNoninvasive ventilation in the pediatric intensive care unit for children with acute respiratory failure.
Noninvasive ventilation, a novel treatment to increase alveolar ventilation, is accomplished with either subatmospheric or positive pressure administered via an external interface. In adults with acute respiratory failure, noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) is superior to standard therapy in preventing intubation and reducing mortality. The role of NPPV in pediatric-age patients with acute respiratory distress is not as well established. ⋯ Other uses of NPPV in the pediatric intensive care unit include the treatment of upper airway obstruction, atelectasis, and exacerbations of neuromuscular disorders, and to facilitate weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation. Successful use of NPPV in young infants with respiratory distress is impeded by the lack of suitable size interfaces, and the response characteristics of commercially available bilevel ventilators. Despite these challenges, NPPV is a promising alternate to standard therapies in the treatment of acute respiratory distress in the pediatric-age patient.
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Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder, with hypotonia being the predominant feature in infancy, and developmental delay, obesity, and behavioral problems becoming more prominent in childhood and adolescence. Children with this disorder frequently suffer from excessive daytime sleepiness and have a primary abnormality of the circadian rhythm of rapid eye movement sleep. They also have primary abnormal ventilatory responses to hypoxia and hypercapnia, and these abnormalities may be exacerbated by obesity. ⋯ Clinical evaluation should include a careful history of sleep-related symptoms and assessment of the upper airway and lung function. Polysomnography should be considered for those with symptoms suggestive of sleep-disordered breathing. Treatment options depend on the underlying problem, but may include behavioral interventions, weight control, adenotonsillectomy, and nocturnal ventilation.
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Pediatric pulmonology · Jan 2002
ReviewPermissive hypercapnia in neonates: the case of the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Advances in neonatology have resulted in an increase in the absolute number of survivors with chronic lung disease (CLD), though its overall incidence has not changed. Though the single most important high-risk factor for CLD is prematurity, the focus of attention has recently changed over to minimizing the impact of other two risk factors: baro/volutrauma related to mechanical ventilation, and oxygen toxicity. Permissive hypercapnia (PHC) or controlled ventilation is a strategy that minimizes baro/volutrauma by allowing relatively high levels of arterial CO(2), provided the arterial pH does not fall below a preset minimal value. ⋯ Further prospective trials are needed to study the definition, safety and efficacy of PHC in ventilated preterm and term neonates. However, designing disease/gestational-postnatal age-specific clinical trials of PHC will be difficult in neonates, given the diverse pathophysiology of their diseases and the various ventilatory modes/variables currently available. The potential benefits and adverse effects of PHC are reviewed, and its relationship to current ventilatory strategies like synchronized mechanical ventilation and high-frequency ventilation in high-risk neonates is briefly discussed.
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Pediatric pulmonology · Dec 2001
ReviewManagement of oxygenation in pediatric acute hypoxemic respiratory failure.
The prognosis for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in adults and children has improved since its formal acceptance as a clinical entity in 1967. Because acute hypoxemic respiratory failure is the hallmark of acute lung injury and ARDS, the management of oxygenation is crucial. ⋯ Other lung-protective strategies such as different levels of positive end-expiratory pressure, altered inspiratory:expiratory ratios, recruitment maneuvers, prone positioning, and extraneous gases or drugs may impact clinical outcomes but require further clinical study. This paper reviews state-of-the-art strategies on the management of oxygenation in acute hypoxemic respiratory failure and attempts to guide pediatric pulmonologists in managing children with respiratory failure.