On-Demand ICS + FABA Combinations in 6-11-Year-Old Children.

In recent years, some new concepts have been added to asthma treatment such as "anti-inflammatory reliever" (ß2-agonist use associated to an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) as a reliever treatment) that combines the benefits of both therapies and provides short- and long-term benefits for treatment in asthma patients. Robust evidence has been presented in patients over 12 years, and the main changes in the international guidelines for asthma treatment were originally made in this age group. However, a few suggestions have been added to treatments in younger patients, in part because of the scarce evidence that exists in this group. We aim to analyze the information regarding the utilization of ICS + fast-acting beta-agonist (FABA) combination in children between 6 and 11 years. Although up until today only three published trials exist (two studies use beclomethasone + albuterol and one study uses budesonide + formoterol), they provide significant information on the benefits of ICS + FABA use in this population.

[Guidelines on atopic dermatitis for Mexico (GUIDAMEX): using the ADAPTE methodology]. / Guía de dermatitis atópica para México (GUIDAMEX): lineamientos usando metodología ADAPTE.

With the advancement of knowledge in relation to the physiopathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD), several new therapeutic forms have been developed. There are also new guidelines for self-care. On the other hand, there is still an underdiagnosis of AD in Mexico. Thus, the need was seen to develop a national guide, with a broad base among the different medical groups that care for patients with AD. The Atopic Dermatitis Guidelines for Mexico (GUIDAMEX) was developed with the ADAPTE methodology, with the endorsement and participation of ten national medical societies, from physicians in Primary Healthcare to allergists and dermatologists. Throughout the manuscript, key clinical questions are answered that lead to recommendations and suggestions for the diagnosis of AD (including differential diagnosis with immunodeficiency syndromes), the recognition of comorbidities and complications, non-pharmacological treatment including therapeutic education, treatment of flares and maintenance therapy. The latter encompasses general measures to avoid triggering factors, first-line treatment focussed on repair of the skin barrier, second-line treatment (topical proactive therapy), and third-line phototherapy or systemic treatment, including dupilumab and JAK inhibitors.

Con el avance de los conocimientos en relación con la fisiopatogenia de la dermatitis atópica (DA) se han desarrollado varias formas terapéuticas nuevas. Asimismo, existen nuevos lineamientos para el autocuidado. Por otro lado, aún existe un subdiagnóstico de la DA en México. Así, se vio la necesidad de desarrollar una guía nacional, con base amplia entre las diferentes agrupaciones médicos que atienden pacientes con DA. Se desarrolló la Guía de DA para México (GUIDAMEX) con la metodología ADAPTE, con el aval y la participación de diez sociedades médicas nacionales, desde médicos del primer contacto hasta alergólogos y dermatólogos. A lo largo del escrito se contestan preguntas clínicas clave que llevan a recomendaciones y sugerencias para el diagnóstico de la DA (incluyendo diagnóstico diferencial con síndromes de inmunodeficiencia), el reconocer de las comorbilidades y complicaciones, las medidas generales (tratamiento no farmacológico) incluyendo la educación terapéutica, el tratamiento de los brotes y el tratamiento de mantenimiento. Este último abarca las medidas generales de evitar agravantes, el tratamiento de primera línea reparador de la barrera cutánea, de segunda línea (manejo proactivo tópico), hasta la fototerapia y el tratamiento sistémico de la tercera línea, incluyendo dupilumab y los inhibidores de la cinasa de Jano.

Cutaneous Manifestations Related to COVID-19 Immune Dysregulation in the Pediatric Age Group.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: At the juncture of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is currently in an early phase of collecting clinical data and reports of its skin manifestations, and its pathophysiology is still highly conjectural. We reviewed cutaneous manifestations associated with COVID-19 in the pediatric age group. RECENT FINDINGS: Children infected by SARS-CoV-2 usually develop milder respiratory symptoms, but cutaneous manifestations seem a little more prevalent than in adults. These skin features of infection by the coronavirus can be similar to those produced by other common viruses, but there are also reports of cases with more heterogeneous clinical pictures, which have made their classification difficult. To date, the more frequently reported skin variants featured in pediatric cases are purpuric (pseudo-chilblain, necrotic-acral ischemia, hemorrhagic macules, and/or cutaneous necrosis), morbilliform/maculopapular, erythema multiforme, urticarial, vesicular, Kawasaki-like, and miscellaneous (highly variable in both frequency and severity). Their pathophysiological mechanism is still elusive and is likely to be the result of the complex involvement of one or more mechanisms, like direct virus-induced skin damage, vasculitis-like reactions, and/or indirect injury as a consequence of a systemic inflammatory reaction. In this review, we presented and discussed clinical cases as examples of different cutaneous responses reported in some children with SARS-CoV-2 infection, differential diagnosis considerations, and a preliminary conceptual approach to some of their probable associated pathologic mechanisms.

Physicians' knowledge regarding epinephrine underuse in anaphylaxis.

BACKGROUND: Anaphylaxis is a life-threating hypersensitivity reaction. Epinephrine underuse in patients with anaphylaxis could lead to poor outcomes. There is evidence that the epinephrine use in such patients could be as low as 8%. OBJECTIVE: To assess the percentage of physicians who know that epinephrine is the first-line treatment in anaphylaxis. The secondary objective was to assess knowledge gaps regarding anaphylaxis diagnosis and treatment that could lead to epinephrine underuse. METHODS: We performed an online survey for physicians in Mexico City, using a 10-item questionnaire assessing anaphylaxis knowledge. We obtained measures of central tendency for statistical analysis, such as frequency, 95% confidence interval, as well as the chi-square test for comparing the groups. RESULTS: A total of 196 surveys were considered for analysis. Of all the participants, 96.44% were able to correctly diagnose an anaphylaxis case with cutaneous, respiratory, and cardiovascular symptoms. Fifty-two percent correctly diagnosed anaphylaxis without cutaneous symptoms. The 72.4% of the respondents chose epinephrine as the first-line treatment, 42.3% correctly answered that there is no absolute contraindication to giving epinephrine, and 20.9% ignored whether there was any contraindication for its use. Only 38.3% of participants answered that during discharge they would prescribe an autoinjector. Regarding the administration route, 63.4% answered that the first dose of epinephrine is applied intramuscularly and 50% of the participants chose the correct dose of epinephrine. Only 2.6% of the participants answered all 10 questions correctly. CONCLUSION: There is still some difficulty recognizing anaphylaxis without cutaneous symptoms. Even though two-thirds of physicians identified that epinephrine is the treatment of choice, only 49.5% would have used intramuscular epinephrine as first-line treatment. We found a low percentage of epinephrine ampule prescription and knowledge of the correct dose. These findings can account for epinephrine underuse when dealing with anaphylaxis in the real clinical practice.

Asma: uso adecuado de dispositivos para inhalación / Asthma: correct use of inhalation drug-delivery devices

Resumen La terapia inhalada se considera la piedra angular del manejo del asma. Sin embargo, a pesar de ser la forma ideal de administración de estos medicamentos, solamente el 70% de los pacientes cumple el tratamiento adecuadamente y sólo del 39 al 67% de los médicos conocen y pueden explicar de forma adecuada las distintas técnicas de inhalación. La terapia inhalada tiene características muy particulares. El depósito pulmonar de un medicamento inhalado a través del tracto respiratorio es más complejo que cuando se administra por vía oral, y varía dependiendo de varios factores, tanto inherentes al medicamento como a la forma de administrarlo. Para que la terapia inhalada sea exitosa, se requiere que se generen partículas del medicamento de un tamaño apropiado que penetren más allá de la orofaringe y la laringe, y que puedan depositarse en los pulmones. Existen múltiples dispositivos para la administración de medicamentos en la vía respiratoria baja. Cada uno ha probado tener una eficacia similar, siempre y cuando se utilicen con la técnica correcta. La decisión para su uso se realiza con base en la edad del paciente, la capacidad de coordinar entre la inhalación y la activación del dispositivo y la presencia de síntomas agudos. La elección del dispositivo a utilizar siempre deberá hacerse de forma conjunta, evaluando pros y contras de cada uno de los dispositivos y siempre de forma individualizada.

Abstract Inhaled therapy is considered the cornerstone of asthma treatment. However, despite being the ideal form of drug delivery, it is recognized that only 70% of patients have an adequate attachment to their treatment and only 39-67% of physicians can explain the optimal inhaler technique. Inhaled therapy has very specific characteristics. Pulmonary deposit of an inhaled medication through the respiratory tract is more complex than when administered orally and depends on several factors inherent to both the medication and the administration. For successful inhaled therapy, the drug needs to be converted into particles of an appropriate size, which can enter beyond the oropharynx and larynx, and be deposited in the lungs. There are multiple devices for the administration of drugs in the lower respiratory tract, each one with a similar efficacy as long as it is used with the correct technique. The decision of which device should be used is made based on the age of the patient, the ability to coordinate between the inhalation and activation of the device, and the presence of acute symptoms. The choice of the device must be evaluated individually.

Asma: uso adecuado de dispositivos para inhalación.

Inhaled therapy is considered the cornerstone of asthma treatment. However, despite being the ideal form of drug delivery, it is recognized that only 70% of patients have an adequate attachment to their treatment and only 39-67% of physicians can explain the optimal inhaler technique. Inhaled therapy has very specific characteristics. Pulmonary deposit of an inhaled medication through the respiratory tract is more complex than when administered orally and depends on several factors inherent to both the medication and the administration. For successful inhaled therapy, the drug needs to be converted into particles of an appropriate size, which can enter beyond the oropharynx and larynx, and be deposited in the lungs. There are multiple devices for the administration of drugs in the lower respiratory tract, each one with a similar efficacy as long as it is used with the correct technique. The decision of which device should be used is made based on the age of the patient, the ability to coordinate between the inhalation and activation of the device, and the presence of acute symptoms. The choice of the device must be evaluated individually.

La terapia inhalada se considera la piedra angular del manejo del asma. Sin embargo, a pesar de ser la forma ideal de administración de estos medicamentos, solamente el 70% de los pacientes cumple el tratamiento adecuadamente y sólo del 39 al 67% de los médicos conocen y pueden explicar de forma adecuada las distintas técnicas de inhalación. La terapia inhalada tiene características muy particulares. El depósito pulmonar de un medicamento inhalado a través del tracto respiratorio es más complejo que cuando se administra por vía oral, y varía dependiendo de varios factores, tanto inherentes al medicamento como a la forma de administrarlo. Para que la terapia inhalada sea exitosa, se requiere que se generen partículas del medicamento de un tamaño apropiado que penetren más allá de la orofaringe y la laringe, y que puedan depositarse en los pulmones. Existen múltiples dispositivos para la administración de medicamentos en la vía respiratoria baja. Cada uno ha probado tener una eficacia similar, siempre y cuando se utilicen con la técnica correcta. La decisión para su uso se realiza con base en la edad del paciente, la capacidad de coordinar entre la inhalación y la activación del dispositivo y la presencia de síntomas agudos. La elección del dispositivo a utilizar siempre deberá hacerse de forma conjunta, evaluando pros y contras de cada uno de los dispositivos y siempre de forma individualizada.

Implicaciones nutricionales de las dietas de eliminación / Nutritional implications of elimination diets

Resumen:Introducción: La piedra angular del tratamiento de alergia alimentaria es la eliminación de los alimentos causantes. Sin embargo, los niños que restringen el consumo de alimentos básicos tienen un mayor riesgo de desnutrición.El objetivo del estudio fue identificar el estado nutricional de pacientes con dieta de eliminación e identificar la proporción de pacientes del grupo con verdadera alergia alimentaria.Métodos: Se realizó un estudio transversal de enero a octubre de 2014 en el Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez. Se incluyeron pacientes de 1 a 11 años con historia de eliminación de, al menos, uno de cinco alimentos (huevo, leche, trigo, maíz, soya) por un mínimo de 6 meses. Se realizó la valoración nutricional completa y se compararon los índices antropométricos con tablas de Z score para la edad. Se analizaron los datos por medio de estadística descriptiva, y posteriormente con prueba de Kruskal-Wallis y correlación de Spearman.Resultados: Los alimentos más frecuentemente eliminados fueron leche, soya, huevo, maíz y trigo. Al comparar el número de alimentos eliminados de la dieta con los distintos índices antropométricos evaluados, se encontró que entre mayor cantidad de alimentos eliminados, el score Z de peso para la edad (PE) y talla para la edad (TE), así como peso para la talla (PT) fueron menores, y el más afectado fue la reserva grasa. Solamente en el 5% de los niños se corroboró alergia alimentaria.Conclusiones: Nuestro estudio confirma la necesidad de una correcta asesoría nutricional en aquellos pacientes que cuenten con dietas de eliminación, así como el sobrediagnóstico que existe de alergia alimentaria.

Abstract:Background: The backbone of food allergy treatment is the restriction of causative foods. These interventions have shown that children who restrict the consumption of basic foods have a higher risk of malnutrition.The aim of the study was to identify the nutritional status of patients with elimination diet, characterizing their anthropometric indexes and identifying the percentage of patients in the group with true food allergies.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from January to October 2014 at the Hospital Infantil de Mexico Federico Gomez. Patients 1 to 11 years of age with a history of elimination of at least one of five foods (eggs, milk, wheat, corn, soybeans) for a minimum of 6 months were included. Full nutritional assessment was performed by comparing the anthropometric indexes to z score for age. Data analysis used descriptive statistics. Kruskal-Wallis and Spearman correlation were performed.Results: The most frequent eliminated foods were milk, soy, eggs, corn, and wheat. Comparing the number of foods eliminated with different anthropometric indexes, with a greater amount of eliminated food, the z-score of weight/age (W/A), height/age (H/A) and weight/height (W/H) were lower and the most affected index was fat reserve. Only in 5% of children was food allergy confirmed.Conclusions The study confirms the need for nutrition counseling for patients who have elimination diets and overdiagnosis of food allergy.

[Nutritional implications of elimination diets]. / Implicaciones nutricionales de las dietas de eliminación.

BACKGROUND: The backbone of food allergy treatment is the restriction of causative foods. These interventions have shown that children who restrict the consumption of basic foods have a higher risk of malnutrition. The aim of the study was to identify the nutritional status of patients with elimination diet, characterizing their anthropometric indexes and identifying the percentage of patients in the group with true food allergies. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out from January to October 2014 at the Hospital Infantil de Mexico Federico Gomez. Patients 1 to 11 years of age with a history of elimination of at least one of five foods (eggs, milk, wheat, corn, soybeans) for a minimum of 6 months were included. Full nutritional assessment was performed by comparing the anthropometric indexes to z score for age. Data analysis used descriptive statistics. Kruskal-Wallis and Spearman correlation were performed. RESULTS: The most frequent eliminated foods were milk, soy, eggs, corn, and wheat. Comparing the number of foods eliminated with different anthropometric indexes, with a greater amount of eliminated food, the z-score of weight/age (W/A), height/age (H/A) and weight/height (W/H) were lower and the most affected index was fat reserve. Only in 5% of children was food allergy confirmed. CONCLUSIONS: The study confirms the need for nutrition counseling for patients who have elimination diets and overdiagnosis of food allergy.