The association of polyunsaturated fatty acids and asthma: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: To examine the relationships between polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) dietary intake and asthma in children. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 14,727 participants from the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database in 1999-2018 were included, and the baseline characteristics of all participants were gathered. The description analysis was used to explore the possible covariates. Weighted multivariate logistic regression models were adopted to assessed the association between PUFAs dietary intake and asthma in children. In addition, we also performed subgroup analysis based on gender, age, and maternal smoking during pregnancy to investigate this relationship. RESULTS: The prevalence of asthma approximately was 15.38% in the present study. The result of weighted multivariate logistic regression indicated that, docosahexaenoic [weighted odds ratio (OR) = 0.37, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.19-0.74], total n - 3 PUFAs (weighted OR = 0.63, 95%CI 0.43-0.91), and eicosapentaenoic (weighted OR = 0.35, 95%CI 0.13-0.95) dietary intake were negatively associated with asthma in children. The subgroup analysis described that when children were male (weighted OR = 0.28, 95%CI 0.10-0.84), or were 5-7 years (weighted OR = 0.04, 95%CI 0.01-0.37), were 7-12 years (weighted OR = 0.46, 95%CI 0.24-0.90), or their maternal smoking during pregnancy (weighted OR = 0.16, 95%CI 0.03-0.90), docosahexaenoic dietary intake was negatively related to childhood asthma. CONCLUSION: Docosahexaenoic dietary intake was negatively associated with the asthma in children, especially if children were male, or were 5-12 years, or their maternal smoking during pregnancy.

A Lung Ultrasound-Based Nomogram for the Prediction of Refractory Mycoplasma pneumoniae Pneumonia in Hospitalized Children.

Purpose: Early diagnosis of refractory Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (RMPP) is challenging because of the lack of practical diagnostic imaging tools. Lung ultrasound (LUS) is an emerging tool for diagnosing childhood pneumonia. Hence, we evaluated the role of a nomogram combining LUS findings, clinical features, and laboratory indices in the early prediction of RMPP in children. Patients and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 225 children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) admitted to our hospital between Dec 2018 and Aug 2021. Logistic regression analysis incorporated LUS findings and clinical predictors into the nomogram. Ninety patients hospitalized from Sep 2021 to Dec 2021 were used for external validation of the prediction model. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) and calibration curves were used to evaluate the performance of the nomogram in the early diagnosis of RMPP. Results: Ultimately, Consolidation size /BSA (odds ratio (OR) 1.015, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.536-2.446), Pleural Effusion (OR 3.551, 95% CI 1.921-15.600), LDH (OR 1.044, 95% CI 1.006-1. 021) and CRP (OR 3.293, 95% CI 1.019-1.098) were independent risk factors for the development of RMPP. The prediction model was represented visually as a nomogram. The area under the ROC curve for the predictive nomogram was 0.955 (95% CI 0.919-0.978) in the training cohort and 0.916 (95% CI 0.838-0.964) in the validation cohort. The calibration curve is close to the diagonal. Conclusion: This is the first-time lung ultrasound was added to the predicted nomogram, which can more comprehensively assess the condition and more accurately predict the occurrence of RMPP early. Therefore, this nomogram can be widely used in the early diagnosis of RMPP, especially in primary care hospitals.