According to a new study, conducted by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco and presented by the 2012 General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, children who live with dogs may have less of a risk of developing asthma. The researchers state that dust found in households with dogs may protect against the infection associated with a respiratory virus which has been linked to asthma in kids... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

Summary: The fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) has gained interest as a non-invasive tool to measure airway inflammation in asthma since it reflects allergic inflammation. Recent controlled clinical studies have, however, questioned its role in the management of asthma in children. To assess the clinical value of FeNO in paediatric asthma management, a meta-analysis was performed on the controlled studies of childhood asthma management guided by repeated FeNO measurements, and relevant publications on the confounders of FeNO were reviewed. The data suggests that utilising FeNO to tailor the dose of inhaled corticosteroids in children cannot be recommended for routine clinical practice since there is a danger of excessive inhaled corticosteroid doses in children without meaningful cha...

Summary: Immunological investigations need to be considered in any child presenting with chronic wet cough. Not infrequently, such children are subjected to a detailed, expensive battery of immune function tests, without consideration as to whether such extensive testing is necessary or indeed helpful. The main aim of this review is to discuss which immune function tests are and are not particularly helpful when investigating a child with persistent wet cough. (Source: Paediatric Respiratory Reviews)

Summary: Bacterial ‘colonisation’ of the nasopharynx by potential bacterial pathogens is frequent in early childhood and is frequent as part of a dynamic process in which the microbiota of the oral and nasopharynx are established. New understanding recognizes this process is evolving and that competition and likely regulation occurs among potential pathogens as well as between pathogens and commensals. Such events elicit host responses that either results in clearance or persistence within the nasal and oral pharynx. Environmental factors such as recent antibiotic usage, smoking and vaccines all impact on the success of specific bacterial species in this competition. Understanding the significant bacterial interactions as well as how bacteria work in concert to regulate density, expres...