Changes in serum levels of resistin and visfatin in pediatric patients with acute Kawasaki disease following intravenous immune globulin treatment / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To determine serum levels of resistin and visfatin in the patients with acute Kawasaki disease before and after intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) treatment.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 50 children with acute Kawasaki disease were treated with IVIG for 48 hours between January 2011 and January 2013. As controls, 30 healthy children and 30 children with acute infectious diseases were included. Serum levels of resistin and visfatin were measured by ELISA both before and after the treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The baseline serum levels of resistin and visfatin were significantly higher in patients with acute Kawasaki disease than in the two control groups of subjects (i.e., healthy children and patients with acute infectious diseases; P<0.05). In the 50 patients with Kawasaki disease, 38 were not responding and 12 were responding. Serum resistin levels before treatment were significantly higher in non-responders than those in responders (P<0.05). A significant decrease in serum levels of resistin after treatment was observed in IVIG responders (P<0.05). Serum visfatin levels were not significantly different between IVIG responders and non-responders (P>0.05). Additionally, serum resistin and visfatin levels were not significantly different between acute Kawasaki disease patients with and without coronary artery lesions.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Resistin and visfatin may play important roles in the development of Kawasaki disease and serum resistin may be used as a novel outcome indicator of the IVIG treatment.</p>

Epidemiological analysis of childhood asthma in Yichang City, China / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the prevalence, epidemiological characteristics, and risk factors for childhood asthma in Yichang City, China and to collect evidence for the early diagnosis and preventive treatment of asthma.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Preliminary screening questionnaires were distributed to more than 90% of children in 5 kindergartens, 10 primary and secondary schools, and 5 communities in Yichang City to detect children with suspected asthma. These surveyed children were selected by cluster random sampling. A further questionnaire survey was conducted for suspected cases. Meanwhile, a similar number of sex- and age-matched non-asthmatic children were selected for the case-control study. Information from returned questionnaires was entered into a database for statistical analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 11 000 questionnaires were distributed, and 10 456 (95.1%) questionnaires were returned. The prevalence rate of asthma among children in Yichang was 3.47%, significantly higher in boys than in girls (P<0.05). A total of 107 out of 363 children with asthma had a history of drug allergy, and 152 cases had a family history of allergy. The majority of asthmatic children had irregular onset-prone seasons and hours. Respiratory tract infections were the most common trigger of asthma attacks, accounting for 93.1% of all onsets; family history of allergy, history of early use of antibiotics, history of housing renovation, and history of passive smoking were the major risk factors for asthma.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Prevention of respiratory tract infections may reduce the frequency of asthma attacks; reducing the use of antibiotics during early childhood, decreasing the frequency of housing renovation, and advocating for smoking cessation among parents have preventive effects on asthma.</p>