Electrical activity of the diaphragm during neurally adjusted ventilatory assist in pediatric patients.

BACKGROUND: Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA) is a ventilation mode which provides respiratory support proportional to the electrical activity of the diaphragm (Edi). The aims of this trial were to assess the feasibility of aiming at peak Edi between 5 and 15 µV during NAVA in clinical practice, to study the effect of age, sedation level and ventilatory settings on the Edi signal and to give some reference values for Edi in a pediatric population. METHODS: As a part of a larger randomized controlled trial, 81 patients received Edi catheter for monitoring Edi and guiding NAVA ventilation. The goal for peak Edi during invasive ventilation was 5-15 µV. Edi activity and NAVA levels were observed during invasive ventilation and an hour after extubation. RESULTS: Sixty-six patients with healthy lungs (81.5%) were ventilated, mostly as part of postoperative care, while respiratory distress was the indication for invasive ventilation in the remaining 15 patients (18.5%). NAVA levels varied from 0.2 to 2.0 cmH2O/µV in the patients with healthy lungs, but were higher, from 0.7 to 4.0 cmH2O/µV, in the respiratory distress patients (P < 0.001). The latter had higher peak Edi values in all phases of treatment. The effect of age and level of sedation on Edi was statistically significant, but carried only limited clinical relevance. The peak post-extubation Edi levels of the patients with healthy lungs and respiratory distress, respectively, were 9 ± 7 and 20 ± 14 µV. Two out of the three patients for whom extubation failed had an atypical Edi pattern prior to extubation. CONCLUSIONS: Optimizing the level of support during NAVA by aiming at a peak Edi between 5 and 15 µV was an applicable strategy in our pediatric population. Relatively high post-extubation Edi signal levels were seen in patients recovering from respiratory distress. Information revealed by the Edi signal could be used to find patients with a potential risk of extubation failure.

Genotypic and phenotypic characterization of carriage and invasive disease isolates of Neisseria meningitidis in Finland.

The relationship between carriage and the development of invasive meningococcal disease is not fully understood. We investigated the changes in meningococcal carriage in 892 military recruits in Finland during a nonepidemic period (July 2004 to January 2006) and characterized all of the oropharyngeal meningococcal isolates obtained (n = 215) by using phenotypic (serogrouping and serotyping) and genotypic (porA typing and multilocus sequence typing) methods. For comparison, 84 invasive meningococcal disease strains isolated in Finland between January 2004 and February 2006 were also analyzed. The rate of meningococcal carriage was significantly higher at the end of military service than on arrival (18% versus 2.2%; P < 0.001). Seventy-four percent of serogroupable carriage isolates belonged to serogroup B, and 24% belonged to serogroup Y. Most carriage isolates belonged to the carriage-associated ST-60 clonal complex. However, 21.5% belonged to the hyperinvasive ST-41/44 clonal complex. Isolates belonging to the ST-23 clonal complex were cultured more often from oropharyngeal samples taken during the acute phase of respiratory infection than from samples taken at health examinations at the beginning and end of military service (odds ratio [OR], 6.7; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 2.7 to 16.4). The ST-32 clonal complex was associated with meningococcal disease (OR, 17.8; 95% CI, 3.8 to 81.2), while the ST-60 clonal complex was associated with carriage (OR, 10.7; 95% CI, 3.3 to 35.2). These findings point to the importance of meningococcal vaccination for military recruits and also to the need for an efficacious vaccine against serogroup B isolates.

Pneumococcal carriage is more common in asthmatic than in non-asthmatic young men.

INTRODUCTION: The aim was to investigate the prevalence of oropharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Neisseria meningitidis and beta-haemolytic streptococci among asthmatic and non-asthmatic young Finnish men and to identify putative risk factors. OBJECTIVES: A total of 224 asthmatics and 668 non-asthmatic men (mean age 19.6 years) from two intakes of conscripts to the Kainuu Brigade, Finland in July 2004 and January 2005 were enrolled upon entering military service. METHODS: Oropharyngeal specimens were examined for bacteria by routine culture methods. All the participants filled in questionnaires concerning risk factors for asthma and respiratory infections. RESULTS: S. pneumoniae (48 cases, 5.4%), Group A streptococci (16, 1.8%), H. influenzae (45, 5.0%), M. catarrhalis (24, 2.7%) and N. meningitidis (20, 2.2%) were isolated from the 892 participants. Ten putative risk factors for oropharyngeal colonization (asthma, atopy, allergic rhinitis, smoking, current use of asthma medication, history of adeno/tonsillectomy, level of highly sensitive C-reactive protein, peak expiratory flow, results of a 12-min running test and body mass index) were evaluated. The only significant risk factor for S. pneumoniae carriage was asthma (OR, 2.04; 95% CI 1.12 to 3.72). CONCLUSIONS: Pneumococcal carriage is more common in asthmatic than in non-asthmatic young men.

Smoking status interacts with the association between mannose-binding lectin serum levels and gene polymorphism and the carriage of oropharyngeal bacteria.

Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) role in the carriage of oropharyngeal bacteria is not known. We investigated the association of smoking, MBL2 polymorphisms, and MBL concentrations with oropharyngeal carriage of respiratory bacteria in young men. Oropharyngeal specimens, MBL concentrations, and MBL2 gene polymorphisms were measured in 124 asthmatic and 394 nonasthmatic Finnish military recruits. The carriage rates of S. pneumoniae (p = 0.002), N. meningitidis (p = 0.005), and beta-hemolytic streptococci (p < 0.001) throughout the military service were significantly higher among smokers than in nonsmokers. An MBL level below the median proved to be a significant risk factor for the carriage of N. meningitidis (odds ratio [OR] = 1.9; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.0-3.6) and beta-hemolytic streptococci (OR = 2.0; 95% CI 1.2-3.2) in the nonsmokers and a borderline significant risk factor for the carriage of S. pneumoniae (OR = 1.5; 95% CI 0.9-2.6), whereas low MBL levels producing MBL2 haplotypes (LXA/LXA, LXA/O, HYA/O, LYA/O, O/O) seemed to be associated with the carriage of N. meningitidis (OR = 1.8; 95% CI 1.0-3.4) and S. pneumoniae (OR = 1.6; 95% CI 0.9-2.7). Thus, MBL deficiency may predispose nonsmokers to oropharyngeal carriage of these bacteria. We hypothesize that the major factor contributing to elevated bacterial carriage in smokers might be increased bacterial adherence to epithelial cells, which obscures the effect of MBL.

An outbreak of holarctica-type tularemia in pediatric patients.

BACKGROUND: Holarctica-type tularemia is endemic in the Northern Hemisphere. Despite recurrent epidemics tularemia is not well known in children and the pediatric cases are often misdiagnosed. METHODS: An outbreak of holarctica-type tularemia occurred in the Oulu region of Northern Finland in late summer/early August 2007. We collected prospectively data on all the cases of children diagnosed and treated for tularemia at the Department of Pediatrics, Oulu University Hospital, during the epidemic from July through September 2007. RESULTS: Fifty patients were confirmed as having tularemia. All the cases appeared in a relatively small part of the Oulu region and almost all came from an area about 40 km in diameter where the annual incidence rate was high (342/100,000). Ulceroglandular tularemia was recorded in 47 of the 50 cases and secondary skin manifestations in half of the cases. CONCLUSIONS: Tularemia caused by holarctica-type bacteria is a relatively mild infection, but symptoms are protracted in children and an epidemic consumes considerable health care resources.

[Tularemia as a pediatric problem]. / Lasten jänisrutto.

The diagnosis of tularemia is based on the clinical picture, and epidemics are brief and local. In children, recognition of tularaemia may be challenging, as an inflamed mosquito bite mark may be covered under the hair, and lymph node enlargement is associated with other febrile diseases as well. Half of the children have vesicopapular skin changes. Fluoroqinolones and aminoglycosides area effective against Francisella tularensis in vitro, and the efficacy of treatment seems to be the better the earlier it is initiated. By discretion, fluoroqinolones can be utilized in the treatment of tularemia also in children.

All known human rhinovirus species are present in sputum specimens of military recruits during respiratory infection.

Human rhinoviruses (HRV) are known to cause common cold as well as more complicated respiratory infections. HRV species -A, -B and -C have all been associated with lower respiratory infections and exacerbations of asthma. However, the type distribution of strains connected to different kinds of lower respiratory conditions is not clearly known. We have analysed the presence of HRV in sputum specimens derived from military recruits with and without pre-diagnosed asthma at times of acute respiratory infection (CIAS Study, 2004-2005). The analysis was performed with HRV and HEV real-time RT-PCR assays. Subsequently we studied type distribution of HRV strains by genetic typing in the VP4/VP2 genomic region. In total 146 (38.8%) specimens were HRV-positive and 36 (9.3%) HEV-positive. No difference was found in HRV detection between the asthmatic vs. non-asthmatic patients. Most of the genetically typed strains, 18 (62.1%), belonged to HRV-A, while HRV-B strains constituted five (17.2%) of the HRV-positive strains. HRV-C strain was typed four times from the HRV-positive cases and a HEV-D strain twice. We further typed six HEV positive strains in the partial VP1 region. Three of these belonged to HRV-A and three to HEV-D. HRV-A strains were discovered throughout the study period, while HRV-C strains originated from winter and spring specimens. Interestingly, four out of five typed HRV-B strains originated from the summer season specimens.