150 results on '"Alexander, Moeller"'
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2. ERS International Congress 2023: highlights from the Paediatrics Assembly
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Susanne J.H. Vijverberg, Asterios Kampouras, Halime Nayir Büyükşahin, Heidi Makrinioti, Laura Petrarca, Mehtap Schmidt, Leonie D. Schreck, Ruth M. Urbantat, Nicole Beydon, Myrofora Goutaki, Anna Lavizzari, Marijke Proesmans, Dirk Schramm, Mirjam Stahl, Angela Zacharasiewicz, Alexander Moeller, and Marielle W. Pijnenburg
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Medicine - Abstract
Respiratory health in children is essential for general wellbeing and healthy development in the short and long term. It is well known that many respiratory diseases in adulthood have their origins in early life, and therefore research on prevention of respiratory diseases and management of children with respiratory diseases will benefit patients during the full life course. Scientific and clinical advances in the field of respiratory health are moving at a fast pace. This article summarises some of the highlights in paediatric respiratory medicine presented at the hybrid European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress 2023 which took place in Milan (Italy). Selected sessions are summarised by Early Career Members of the Paediatrics Assembly (Assembly 7) under the supervision of senior ERS officers, and cover a wide range of research areas in children, including respiratory physiology and sleep, asthma and allergy, cystic fibrosis, respiratory infection and immunology, neonatology and intensive care, respiratory epidemiology and bronchology.
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- 2024
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3. ERS International Congress 2022: highlights from the Paediatrics Assembly
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Cristina Ardura-Garcia, Katharina Kainz, Maria Christina Mallet, Laura Petrarca, Jasna Rodman Berlot, Monique Slaats, Carmen Streibel, Susanne Vijverberg, Emma E. Williams, Myrofora Goutaki, Diane M. Gray, Anna Lavizzari, Rory E. Morty, Marijke Proesmans, Dirk Schramm, Mirjam Stahl, Angela Zacharasiewicz, Alexander Moeller, and Mariëlle W. Pijnenburg
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Medicine - Abstract
This review has been prepared by the Early Career Members and Chairs of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Assembly 7: Paediatrics. We here summarise the highlights of the advances in paediatric respiratory research presented at the ERS International Congress 2022. The eight scientific groups of this Assembly cover a wide range of research areas, including respiratory physiology and sleep, asthma and allergy, cystic fibrosis (CF), respiratory infection and immunology, neonatology and intensive care, respiratory epidemiology, bronchology, and lung and airway developmental biology. Specifically, we report on abstracts presented at the congress on the effect of high altitude on sleep, sleep disorders, the hypoxic challenge test, and measurements of ventilation inhomogeneity. We discuss prevention of preschool wheeze and asthma, and new asthma medications. In children with CF, we describe how to monitor the effect of CF transmembrane conductance regulator modulator therapy. We present respiratory manifestations and chronic lung disease associated with common variable immunodeficiency. Furthermore, we discuss how to monitor respiratory function in neonatal and paediatric intensive care units. In respiratory epidemiology, we present the latest news from population-based and clinical cohort studies. We also focus on innovative and interventional procedures for the paediatric airway, such as cryotherapy. Finally, we stress the importance of better understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying normal and abnormal lung development.
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- 2023
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4. Online breath analysis with SESI/HRMS for metabolic signatures in children with allergic asthma
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Ronja Weber, Bettina Streckenbach, Lara Welti, Demet Inci, Malcolm Kohler, Nathan Perkins, Renato Zenobi, Srdjan Micic, and Alexander Moeller
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volatile organic compounds (VOCs) ,metabolites ,allergic asthma ,children ,breath analysis ,SESI/HRMS ,Biology (General) ,QH301-705.5 - Abstract
Introduction: There is a need to improve the diagnosis and management of pediatric asthma. Breath analysis aims to address this by non-invasively assessing altered metabolism and disease-associated processes. Our goal was to identify exhaled metabolic signatures that distinguish children with allergic asthma from healthy controls using secondary electrospray ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry (SESI/HRMS) in a cross-sectional observational study.Methods: Breath analysis was performed with SESI/HRMS. Significant differentially expressed mass-to-charge features in breath were extracted using the empirical Bayes moderated t-statistics test. Corresponding molecules were putatively annotated by tandem mass spectrometry database matching and pathway analysis.Results: 48 allergic asthmatics and 56 healthy controls were included in the study. Among 375 significant mass-to-charge features, 134 were putatively identified. Many of these could be grouped to metabolites of common pathways or chemical families. We found several pathways that are well-represented by the significant metabolites, for example, lysine degradation elevated and two arginine pathways downregulated in the asthmatic group. Assessing the ability of breath profiles to classify samples as asthmatic or healthy with supervised machine learning in a 10 times repeated 10-fold cross-validation revealed an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.83.Discussion: For the first time, a large number of breath-derived metabolites that discriminate children with allergic asthma from healthy controls were identified by online breath analysis. Many are linked to well-described metabolic pathways and chemical families involved in pathophysiological processes of asthma. Furthermore, a subset of these volatile organic compounds showed high potential for clinical diagnostic applications.
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- 2023
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5. Quality standards for managing children and adolescents with bronchiectasis: an international consensus
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Anne B. Chang, Jeanette Boyd, Andrew Bush, Adam T. Hill, Zena Powell, Angela Zacharasiewicz, Efthymia Alexopoulou, James D. Chalmers, Andrew J. Collaro, Carolina Constant, Konstantinos Douros, Rebecca Fortescue, Matthias Griese, Jonathan Grigg, Andreas Hector, Bulent Karadag, Oleksandr Mazulov, Fabio Midulla, Alexander Moeller, Marijke Proesmans, Christine Wilson, Stephanie T. Yerkovich, Ahmad Kantar, and Keith Grimwood
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Diseases of the respiratory system ,RC705-779 - Abstract
The global burden of bronchiectasis in children and adolescents is being recognised increasingly. However, marked inequity exists between, and within, settings and countries for resources and standards of care afforded to children and adolescents with bronchiectasis compared with those with other chronic lung diseases. The European Respiratory Society (ERS) clinical practice guideline for the management of bronchiectasis in children and adolescents was published recently. Here we present an international consensus of quality standards of care for children and adolescents with bronchiectasis based upon this guideline. The panel used a standardised approach that included a Delphi process with 201 respondents from the parents and patients’ survey, and 299 physicians (across 54 countries) who care for children and adolescents with bronchiectasis. The seven quality standards of care statements developed by the panel address the current absence of quality standards for clinical care related to paediatric bronchiectasis. These internationally derived, clinician-, parent- and patient-informed, consensus-based quality standards statements can be used by parents and patients to access and advocate for quality care for their children and themselves, respectively. They can also be used by healthcare professionals to advocate for their patients, and by health services as a monitoring tool, to help optimise health outcomes.
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- 2022
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6. ERS International Congress 2021: highlights from the Paediatric Assembly
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Cristina Ardura-Garcia, Alicia Abellan, Sara Cuevas-Ocaña, Nadine Freitag, Yin Ting Lam, Heidi Makrinioti, Monique Slaats, Matteo Storti, Emma E. Williams, Theodore Dassios, Liesbeth Duijts, Refika H. Ersu, Stojka Fustik, Rory E. Morty, Marijke Proesmans, Dirk Schramm, Sejal Saglani, Alexander Moeller, and Marielle W. Pijnenburg
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Medicine - Abstract
In this review, Early Career Members of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) and the Chairs of the ERS Assembly 7: Paediatrics present the highlights in paediatric respiratory medicine from the ERS International Congress 2021. The eight scientific Groups of this Assembly cover respiratory physiology and sleep, asthma and allergy, cystic fibrosis (CF), respiratory infection and immunology, neonatology and intensive care, respiratory epidemiology, bronchology, and lung and airway development. We here describe new developments in lung function testing and sleep-disordered breathing diagnosis, early life exposures affecting pulmonary function in children and effect of COVID-19 on sleep and lung function. In paediatric asthma, we present the important role of the exposome in asthma development, and how biologics can provide better outcomes. We discuss new methods to assess distal airways in children with CF, as some details remain blind when using the lung clearance index. Moreover, we summarise the new ERS guidelines for bronchiectasis management in children and adolescents. We present interventions to reduce morbidity and monitor pulmonary function in newborns at risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia and long-term chronic respiratory morbidity of this disease. In respiratory epidemiology, we characterise primary ciliary dyskinesia, identify early life determinants of respiratory health and describe the effect of COVID-19 preventive measures on respiratory symptoms. Also, we describe the epidemiology of interstitial lung diseases, possible consequences of tracheomalacia and a classification of diffuse alveolar haemorrhage in children. Finally, we highlight that the characterisation of genes and pathways involved in the development of a disease is essential to identify new biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
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- 2022
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7. Age and body mass index affect fit of spirometry Global Lung Function Initiative references in schoolchildren
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Rebeca Mozun, Cristina Ardura-Garcia, Eva S.L. Pedersen, Jakob Usemann, Florian Singer, Philipp Latzin, Alexander Moeller, and Claudia E. Kuehni
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Medicine - Abstract
Background References from the Global Lung Function Initiative (GLI) are widely used to interpret children's spirometry results. We assessed fit for healthy schoolchildren. Methods LuftiBus in the School was a population-based cross-sectional study undertaken in 2013–2016 in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland. Parents and their children aged 6–17 years answered questionnaires about respiratory symptoms and lifestyle. Children underwent spirometry in a mobile lung function lab. We calculated GLI-based z-scores for forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC and forced expiratory flow for 25–75% of FVC (FEF25–75) for healthy White participants. We defined appropriate fit to GLI references by mean values between +0.5 and −0.5 z-scores. We assessed whether fit varied by age, body mass index, height and sex using linear regression models. Results We analysed data from 2036 children with valid FEV1 measurements, of whom 1762 also had valid FVC measurements. The median age was 12.2 years. Fit was appropriate for children aged 6–11 years for all indices. In adolescents aged 12–17 years, fit was appropriate for FEV1/FVC z-scores (mean±sd −0.09±1.02), but not for FEV1 (−0.62±0.98), FVC (−0.60±0.98) and FEF25–75 (−0.54±1.02). Mean FEV1, FVC and FEF25–75 z-scores fitted better in children considered overweight (−0.25, −0.13 and −0.38, respectively) than normal weight (−0.55, −0.50 and −0.55, respectively; p-trend
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- 2022
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8. History Taking as a Diagnostic Tool in Children With Chronic Cough
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Ahmad Kantar, Julie M. Marchant, Woo-Jung Song, Michael D. Shields, Grigorios Chatziparasidis, Angela Zacharasiewicz, Alexander Moeller, and Anne B. Chang
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chronic cough ,children ,history taking ,diagnosis ,red flags ,Pediatrics ,RJ1-570 - Abstract
Chronic cough is a common symptom of many underlying respiratory and non-respiratory disorders and may be associated with less serious causes, such as gastroesophageal reflux and nasal diseases. Chronic cough in children differs from that in adults with respect to its etiologies and management since it can indicate a symptom of an underlying disease in children. Guidelines for managing chronic cough in children are based on recording the history, followed by physical examination, chest radiography, and spirometry. Thus, taking accurate respiratory history for coughing helps delineate the pathophysiological basis of the cause of chronic cough. Detailed history taking enhances the evaluation and treatment, and facilitates a tailored diagnostic identification of likely diagnoses. While studies have described evidence-based red flags in children with chronic cough, the value of skilled physicians regarding history taking has received less attention for the best patient care. In the present article, we outline the major questions comprising a detailed history taking for chronic cough in children.
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- 2022
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9. Effects of a Volatile Organic Compound Filter on Breath Profiles Measured by Secondary Electrospray High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry
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Ronja Weber, Jérôme Kaeslin, Sophia Moeller, Nathan Perkins, Srdjan Micic, and Alexander Moeller
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filter ,SESI-HRMS ,volatile organic compounds ,contaminants ,metabolites ,ambient air ,Organic chemistry ,QD241-441 - Abstract
Environmental volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the ambient air potentially influence on-line breath analysis measurements by secondary electrospray ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry (SESI-HRMS). The aim of this study was to investigate how inhaling through a VOC filter affects the detected breath profiles and whether it is feasible to integrate such filters into routine measurements. A total of 24 adult participants performed paired breath analysis measurements with and without the use of an activated carbon filter for inspiration. Concordance correlation coefficients (CCCs) and the Bland–Altman analysis were used to assess the agreement between the two methods. Additionally, the effect on a selection of known metabolites and contaminants was analyzed. Out of all the detected features, 78.3% showed at least a moderate agreement before and after filter usage (CCC > 0.9). The decrease in agreement of the remaining m/z features was mostly associated with reduced signal intensities after filter usage. Although a moderate-to-substantial concordance was found for almost 80% of the m/z features, the filter still had an effect by decreasing signal intensities, not only for contaminants, but also for some of the studied metabolites. Operationally, the use of the filter complicated and slowed down the conductance of measurements, limiting its applicability in clinical studies.
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- 2022
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10. LuftiBus in the school (LUIS): a population-based study on respiratory health in schoolchildren
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Rebeca Mozun, Claudia E. Kuehni, Eva S.L. Pedersen, Myrofora Goutaki, Johanna M. Kurz, Kees de Hoogh, Jakob Usemann, Florian Singer, Philipp Latzin, and Alexander Moeller
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Air pollution ,children ,Fractional exhaled nitric oxide ,lung function tests ,respiratory symptoms ,Medicine - Abstract
Respiratory disease is common in children and strongly associated with lifestyle and environmental exposures. Thus, it is important to study the epidemiology locally. The LuftiBus in the School (LUIS) study was set up to assess the respiratory health of schoolchildren in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland. LUIS is a cross-sectional population-based study that was carried out 2013 to 2016. Children aged 6–17 years living in the canton of Zurich were eligible to participate. All schools in the canton were approached and the school head decided whether the school would participate and with which classes. Consenting parents answered a standardised questionnaire at home and assenting children completed a shorter questionnaire by interview at school. Trained technicians measured children’s lung function, including spirometry, double tracer gas single-breath washout (DTG-SBW) and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO). Address histories of participants were geocoded to be linked with area-based socioeconomic measures and environmental exposures such as spatiotemporal air pollution estimates for specific time periods and locations. A subgroup was seen again 12 months later using the same procedures to collect longitudinal data. The study included 3870 children at baseline and 655 at the 1-year follow-up. Median age was 12.7 years; 281 (8%) had wheezed in the past year. At baseline we collected 3457 (89%) parental and 3546 (92%) child questionnaires, and 3393 (88%) FeNO, 3446 (89%) spirometry, and 1795 (46%) DTG-SBW measurements. LUIS is a rich resource of health-related data, with information on lung function, environmental exposures and respiratory health on Swiss schoolchildren.
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- 2021
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11. Biologicals in childhood severe asthma: the European PERMEABLE survey on the status quo
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Elisangela Santos-Valente, Heike Buntrock-Döpke, Rola Abou Taam, Stefania Arasi, Arzu Bakirtas, Jaime Lozano Blasco, Klaus Bønnelykke, Mihai Craiu, Renato Cutrera, Antoine Deschildre, Basil Elnazir, Louise Fleming, Urs Frey, Monika Gappa, Antonio Nieto García, Kirsten Skamstrup Hansen, Laurence Hanssens, Karina Jahnz-Rozyk, Milos Jesenak, Sebastian Kerzel, Matthias V. Kopp, Gerard H. Koppelman, Uros Krivec, Kenneth A. MacLeod, Mika Mäkelä, Erik Melén, Györgyi Mezei, Alexander Moeller, Andre Moreira, Petr Pohunek, Predrag Minić, Niels W.P. Rutjes, Patrick Sammut, Nicolaus Schwerk, Zsolt Szépfalusi, Mirjana Turkalj, Iren Tzotcheva, Alexandru Ulmeanu, Stijn Verhulst, Paraskevi Xepapadaki, Jakob Niggel, Susanne Vijverberg, Anke H. Maitland-van der Zee, Uroš Potočnik, Susanne M. Reinartz, Cornelis M. van Drunen, and Michael Kabesch
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Medicine - Abstract
Introduction Severe asthma is a rare disease in children, for which three biologicals, anti-immunoglobulin E, anti-interleukin-5 and anti-IL4RA antibodies, are available in European countries. While global guidelines exist on who should receive biologicals, knowledge is lacking on how those guidelines are implemented in real life and which unmet needs exist in the field. In this survey, we aimed to investigate the status quo and identify open questions in biological therapy of childhood asthma across Europe. Methods Structured interviews regarding experience with biologicals, regulations on access to the different treatment options, drug selection, therapy success and discontinuation of therapy were performed. Content analysis was used to analyse data. Results We interviewed 37 experts from 25 European countries and Turkey and found a considerable range in the number of children treated with biologicals per centre. All participating countries provide public access to at least one biological. Most countries allow different medical disciplines to prescribe biologicals to children with asthma, and only a few restrict therapy to specialised centres. We observed significant variation in the time point at which treatment success is assessed, in therapy duration and in the success rate of discontinuation. Most participating centres intend to apply a personalised medicine approach in the future to match patients a priori to available biologicals. Conclusion Substantial differences exist in the management of childhood severe asthma across Europe, and the need for further studies on biomarkers supporting selection of biologicals, on criteria to assess therapy response and on how/when to end therapy in stable patients is evident.
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- 2021
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12. Identification of Exhaled Metabolites in Children with Cystic Fibrosis
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Ronja Weber, Nathan Perkins, Tobias Bruderer, Srdjan Micic, and Alexander Moeller
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cystic fibrosis ,breath analysis ,SESI-HRMS ,inflammation ,infection ,children ,Microbiology ,QR1-502 - Abstract
The early detection of inflammation and infection is important to prevent irreversible lung damage in cystic fibrosis. Novel and non-invasive monitoring tools would be of high benefit for the quality of life of patients. Our group previously detected over 100 exhaled mass-to-charge (m/z) features, using on-line secondary electrospray ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry (SESI-HRMS), which distinguish children with cystic fibrosis from healthy controls. The aim of this study was to annotate as many m/z features as possible with putative chemical structures. Compound identification was performed by applying a rigorous workflow, which included the analysis of on-line MS2 spectra and a literature comparison. A total of 49 discriminatory exhaled compounds were putatively identified. A group of compounds including glycolic acid, glyceric acid and xanthine were elevated in the cystic fibrosis group. A large group of acylcarnitines and aldehydes were found to be decreased in cystic fibrosis. The proposed compound identification workflow was used to identify signatures of volatile organic compounds that discriminate children with cystic fibrosis from healthy controls, which is the first step for future non-invasive and personalized applications.
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- 2022
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13. ERS International Congress 2020: highlights from the Paediatric Assembly
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Cristina Ardura-Garcia, Sara Cuevas-Ocaña, Nadine Freitag, Asterios Kampouras, John A. King, Panayiotis Kouis, Sara M. Mensink-Bout, Abigail L. Whitehouse, Emma Williams, Theodore Dassios, Liesbeth Duijts, Refika H Ersu, Erol A. Gaillard, Alex R. Horsley, Marijke Proesmans, Robbert Rottier, Dirk Schramm, Alexander Moeller, and Marielle W. Pijnenburg
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Medicine - Abstract
In this review, the Paediatric Assembly of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) presents a summary of the highlights and most relevant findings in the field of paediatric respiratory medicine presented at the virtual ERS International Congress 2020. Early Career Members of the ERS and Chairs of the different Groups comprising the Paediatric Assembly discuss a selection of the presented research. These cover a wide range of research areas, including respiratory physiology and sleep, asthma and allergy, cystic fibrosis, respiratory infection and immunology, neonatology and intensive care, epidemiology, bronchology and lung and airway development. Specifically, we describe the long-term effect in lung function of premature birth, mode of delivery and chronic respiratory conditions such as cystic fibrosis. In paediatric asthma, we present risk factors, phenotypes and their progression with age, and the challenges in diagnosis. We confirm the value of the lung clearance index to detect early lung changes in cystic fibrosis. For bronchiectasis treatment, we highlight the importance of identifying treatable traits. The use of biomarkers and genotypes to identify infants at risk of long-term respiratory morbidity is also discussed. We present the long-term impact on respiratory health of early life and fetal exposures to maternal obesity and intrauterine hypoxia, mechanical ventilation hyperoxia, aeroallergens, air pollution, vitamin A deficient intake and bronchitis. Moreover, we report on the use of metabolomics and genetic analysis to understand the effect of these exposures on lung growth and alveolar development. Finally, we stress the need to establish multidisciplinary teams to treat complex airway pathologies.
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- 2021
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14. COVID-19 in children with underlying chronic respiratory diseases: survey results from 174 centres
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Alexander Moeller, Leo Thanikkel, Liesbeth Duijts, Erol A. Gaillard, Luis Garcia-Marcos, Ahmad Kantar, Nathalie Tabin, Steven Turner, Angela Zacharasiewicz, and Mariëlle W.H. Pijnenburg
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Medicine - Abstract
Background Early reports suggest that most children infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (“SARS-CoV-2”) have mild symptoms. What is not known is whether children with chronic respiratory illnesses have exacerbations associated with SARS-CoV-2 virus. Methods An expert panel created a survey, which was circulated twice (in April and May 2020) to members of the Paediatric Assembly of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) and via the social media of the ERS. The survey stratified patients by the following conditions: asthma, cystic fibrosis (CF), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and other respiratory conditions. Results In total 174 centres responded to at least one survey. 80 centres reported no cases, whereas 94 entered data from 945 children with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 was isolated from 49 children with asthma of whom 29 required no treatment, 19 needed supplemental oxygen and four children required mechanical ventilation. Of the 14 children with CF and COVID-19, 10 required no treatment and four had only minor symptoms. Among the nine children with BPD and COVID-19, two required no treatment, five required inpatient care and oxygen and two were admitted to a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) requiring invasive ventilation. Data were available from 33 children with other conditions and SARS-CoV-2 of whom 20 required supplemental oxygen and 11 needed noninvasive or invasive ventilation. Conclusions Within the participating centres, in children with asthma and CF, infection with SARS-CoV-2 was well tolerated, but a substantial minority of children with BPD and other conditions required ventilatory support indicating that these latter groups are at risk from SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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- 2020
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15. Volatile organic compound breath signatures of children with cystic fibrosis by real-time SESI-HRMS
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Ronja Weber, Naemi Haas, Astghik Baghdasaryan, Tobias Bruderer, Demet Inci, Srdjan Micic, Nathan Perkins, Renate Spinas, Renato Zenobi, Alexander Moeller, Paediatric Exhalomics Group:, Christoph Berger, Christian Bieli, Martin Hersberger, Katharina Heschl, Andreas Jung, Malcolm Kohler, Simona Müller, Tina Schürmann, Florian Singer, Bettina Streckenbach, and Jakob Usemann
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Medicine - Abstract
Early pulmonary infection and inflammation result in irreversible lung damage and are major contributors to cystic fibrosis (CF)-related morbidity. An easy to apply and noninvasive assessment for the timely detection of disease-associated complications would be of high value. We aimed to detect volatile organic compound (VOC) breath signatures of children with CF by real-time secondary electrospray ionisation high-resolution mass spectrometry (SESI-HRMS). A total of 101 children, aged 4–18 years (CF=52; healthy controls=49) and comparable for sex, body mass index and lung function were included in this prospective cross-sectional study. Exhaled air was analysed by a SESI-source linked to a high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Mass spectra ranging from m/z 50 to 500 were recorded. Out of 3468 m/z features, 171 were significantly different in children with CF (false discovery rate adjusted p-value of 0.05). The predictive ability (CF versus healthy) was assessed by using a support-vector machine classifier and showed an average accuracy (repeated cross-validation) of 72.1% (sensitivity of 77.2% and specificity of 67.7%). This is the first study to assess entire breath profiles of children with SESI-HRMS and to extract sets of VOCs that are associated with CF. We have detected a large set of exhaled molecules that are potentially related to CF, indicating that the molecular breath of children with CF is diverse and informative.
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- 2020
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16. Differentiation of Cystic Fibrosis-Related Pathogens by Volatile Organic Compound Analysis with Secondary Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry
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Jérôme Kaeslin, Srdjan Micic, Ronja Weber, Simona Müller, Nathan Perkins, Christoph Berger, Renato Zenobi, Tobias Bruderer, and Alexander Moeller
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cystic fibrosis ,pathogen profiles ,secondary electrospray ionization ,high-resolution mass spectrometry ,recursive feature elimination ,putative compound identification ,Microbiology ,QR1-502 - Abstract
Identifying and differentiating bacteria based on their emitted volatile organic compounds (VOCs) opens vast opportunities for rapid diagnostics. Secondary electrospray ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry (SESI-HRMS) is an ideal technique for VOC-biomarker discovery because of its speed, sensitivity towards polar molecules and compound characterization possibilities. Here, an in vitro SESI-HRMS workflow to find biomarkers for cystic fibrosis (CF)-related pathogens P. aeruginosa, S. pneumoniae, S. aureus, H. influenzae, E. coli and S. maltophilia is described. From 180 headspace samples, the six pathogens are distinguishable in the first three principal components and predictive analysis with a support vector machine algorithm using leave-one-out cross-validation exhibited perfect accuracy scores for the differentiation between the groups. Additionally, 94 distinctive features were found by recursive feature elimination and further characterized by SESI-MS/MS, which yielded 33 putatively identified biomarkers. In conclusion, the six pathogens can be distinguished in vitro based on their VOC profiles as well as the herein reported putative biomarkers. In the future, these putative biomarkers might be helpful for pathogen detection in vivo based on breath samples from patients with CF.
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- 2021
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17. The Swiss Paediatric Airway Cohort (SPAC)
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Eva S.L. Pedersen, Carmen C.M. de Jong, Cristina Ardura-Garcia, Juerg Barben, Carmen Casaulta, Urs Frey, Anja Jochmann, Philipp Latzin, Alexander Moeller, Nicolas Regamey, Florian Singer, Ben Spycher, Oliver Sutter, Myrofora Goutaki, Claudia E. Kuehni, Members of the SPAC study group, C. Barazzone-Argiroffo, J. Barben, C. Casaulta, U. Frey, A. Jochmann, P. Latzin, A. Moeller, N. Regamey, F. Singer, B.D. Spycher, O. Suter, I. Rochat, and C.E. Kuehni
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Medicine - Abstract
Chronic respiratory symptoms, such as cough, wheeze and dyspnoea, are common in children; however, most research has, with the exception of a few large-scale clinical cohort studies, been performed in the general population or in small, highly-selected samples. The Swiss Paediatric Airway Cohort (SPAC) is a national, prospective clinical cohort of children and adolescents who visit physicians for recurrent conditions, such as wheeze and cough, and exercise-related respiratory problems. The SPAC is an observational study and baseline assessment includes standardised questionnaires for families and data extracted from hospital records, including results of clinically indicated investigations, diagnoses and treatments. Outcomes are assessed through annual questionnaires, monthly symptom reporting via mobile phone and follow-up visits. The SPAC will address important questions about clinical phenotypes, diagnosis, treatment, and the short- and long-term prognosis of common respiratory problems in children. The cohort currently consists of 347 patients from four major hospitals (Bern, Zurich, Basel and Lucerne), with 70–80 additional patients joining each month. More centres will join and the target sample size is a minimum of 3000 patients. The SPAC will provide real-life data on children visiting the Swiss healthcare system for common respiratory problems and will provide a research platform for health services research and nested clinical and translational studies.
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- 2018
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18. Key paediatric messages from the 2017 European Respiratory Society International Congress
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Jonathan Grigg, Jürg Barben, Mark L. Everard, Graham Hall, Bülent Karadag, Alexander Moeller, Raffaella Nenna, Kostas N. Priftis, Robbert J. Rottier, Suzanne W.J. Terheggen-Lagro, and Fabio Midulla
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Medicine - Abstract
In this article, the group chairs of the Paediatric Assembly of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) highlight some of the most interesting findings presented at the 2017 ERS International Congress, which was held in Milan, Italy.
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- 2018
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19. Agreement of parent‐ and child‐reported wheeze and its association with measurable asthma traits
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Alexander Moeller, Philipp Latzin, Florian Singer, Rebeca Mozun, Eva S.L. Pedersen, Myrofora Goutaki, Jakob Usemann, Cristina Ardura-Garcia, Claudia E. Kuehni, University of Zurich, and Kuehni, Claudia E
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Parents ,Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine ,Spirometry ,Vital capacity ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Pediatrics ,610 Medicine & health ,Nitric Oxide ,FEV1/FVC ratio ,360 Social problems & social services ,Interquartile range ,Forced Expiratory Volume ,Wheeze ,Epidemiology ,medicine ,Humans ,2735 Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Child ,Asthma ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,business.industry ,medicine.disease ,respiratory tract diseases ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,Breath Tests ,10036 Medical Clinic ,2740 Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine ,Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide Testing ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Exhaled nitric oxide ,medicine.symptom ,business - Abstract
OBJECTIVES In epidemiological studies, childhood asthma is usually assessed with questionnaires directed at parents or children, and these may give different answers. We studied how well parents and children agreed when asked to report symptoms of wheeze and investigated whose answers were closer to measurable traits of asthma. METHODS LuftiBus in the school is a cross-sectional survey of respiratory health among Swiss schoolchildren aged 6-17 years. We applied questionnaires to parents and children asking about wheeze and exertional wheeze in the past year. We assessed agreement between parent-child answers with Cohen's kappa (k), and associations of answers from children and parents with fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s over forced vital capacity (FEV1 /FVC), using quantile regression. RESULTS We received questionnaires from 3079 children and their parents. Agreement was poor for reported wheeze (k = 0.37) and exertional wheeze (k = 0.36). Median FeNO varied when wheeze was reported by children (19 ppb, interquartile range [IQR]: 9-44), parents (22 ppb, IQR: 12-46), both (31 ppb, IQR: 16-55), or neither (11 ppb, IQR: 7-19). Median absolute FEV1 /FVC was the same when wheeze was reported by children (84%, IQR: 78-89) and by parents (84%, IQR: 78-89), lower when reported by both (82%, IQR: 78-87), and higher when reported by neither (87%, IQR: 82-91). For exertional wheeze findings were similar. Results did not differ by age or sex. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that surveying both parents and children and combining their responses can help us to better identify children with measurable asthma traits.
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- 2021
20. Monitoring asthma in childhood: lung function, bronchial responsiveness and inflammation
- Author
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Alexander Moeller, Kai-Hakon Carlsen, Peter D. Sly, Eugenio Baraldi, Giorgio Piacentini, Ian Pavord, Christiane Lex, and Sejal Saglani
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Diseases of the respiratory system ,RC705-779 - Abstract
This review focuses on the methods available for measuring reversible airways obstruction, bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) and inflammation as hallmarks of asthma, and their role in monitoring children with asthma. Persistent bronchial obstruction may occur in asymptomatic children and is considered a risk factor for severe asthma episodes and is associated with poor asthma outcome. Annual measurement of forced expiratory volume in 1 s using office based spirometry is considered useful. Other lung function measurements including the assessment of BHR may be reserved for children with possible exercise limitations, poor symptom perception and those not responding to their current treatment or with atypical asthma symptoms, and performed on a higher specialty level. To date, for most methods of measuring lung function there are no proper randomised controlled or large longitudinal studies available to establish their role in asthma management in children. Noninvasive biomarkers for monitoring inflammation in children are available, for example the measurement of exhaled nitric oxide fraction, and the assessment of induced sputum cytology or inflammatory mediators in the exhaled breath condensate. However, their role and usefulness in routine clinical practice to monitor and guide therapy remains unclear, and therefore, their use should be reserved for selected cases.
- Published
- 2015
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21. Identification of Exhaled Metabolites in Children with Cystic Fibrosis
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Alexander Moeller, Tobias Bruderer, Nathan Perkins, Ronja Weber, Micic Srdjan, University of Zurich, Micic, Srdjan, and Moeller, Alexander
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Diabetes and Metabolism ,2712 Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism ,1303 Biochemistry ,Endocrinology ,10036 Medical Clinic ,Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism ,1312 Molecular Biology ,610 Medicine & health ,Molecular Biology ,Biochemistry ,cystic fibrosis ,breath analysis ,SESI-HRMS ,inflammation ,infection ,children ,putative compound identification - Abstract
The early detection of inflammation and infection is important to prevent irreversible lung damage in cystic fibrosis. Novel and non-invasive monitoring tools would be of high benefit for the quality of life of patients. Our group previously detected over 100 exhaled mass-to-charge (m/z) features, using on-line secondary electrospray ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry (SESI-HRMS), which distinguish children with cystic fibrosis from healthy controls. The aim of this study was to annotate as many m/z features as possible with putative chemical structures. Compound identification was performed by applying a rigorous workflow, which included the analysis of on-line MS2 spectra and a literature comparison. A total of 49 discriminatory exhaled compounds were putatively identified. A group of compounds including glycolic acid, glyceric acid and xanthine were elevated in the cystic fibrosis group. A large group of acylcarnitines and aldehydes were found to be decreased in cystic fibrosis. The proposed compound identification workflow was used to identify signatures of volatile organic compounds that discriminate children with cystic fibrosis from healthy controls, which is the first step for future non-invasive and personalized applications.
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- 2022
22. Efficacy and Safety of Elexacaftor/Tezacaftor/Ivacaftor in Children 6 Through 11 Years of Age with Cystic Fibrosis Heterozygous for
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Marcus A, Mall, Rossa, Brugha, Silvia, Gartner, Julian, Legg, Alexander, Moeller, Pedro, Mondejar-Lopez, Dario, Prais, Tacjana, Pressler, Felix, Ratjen, Philippe, Reix, Paul D, Robinson, Hiran, Selvadurai, Florian, Stehling, Neil, Ahluwalia, Emilio, Arteaga-Solis, Bote G, Bruinsma, Mark, Jennings, Samuel M, Moskowitz, Sabrina, Noel, Simon, Tian, Tanya G, Weinstock, Pan, Wu, Claire E, Wainwright, and Jane C, Davies
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Cystic Fibrosis ,Forced Expiratory Volume ,Mutation ,Humans ,Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator ,Benzodioxoles ,Child ,Aminophenols ,Chloride Channel Agonists - Published
- 2022
23. Diagnosis in children with exercise‐induced respiratory symptoms: A multi‐center study
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Myrofora Goutaki, Alexander Moeller, Cristina Ardura-Garcia, Carmen C.M. de Jong, Florian Singer, Claudia E. Kuehni, Eva S.L. Pedersen, Anja Jochmann, Dominik Mueller-Suter, and Nicolas Regamey
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Male ,Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine ,Spirometry ,Pediatrics ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Adolescent ,Referral ,Nitric Oxide ,Bronchial Provocation Tests ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,030225 pediatrics ,Humans ,Medicine ,Outpatient clinic ,Medical diagnosis ,Child ,Asthma ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,business.industry ,Infant, Newborn ,Primary care physician ,Infant ,Respiration Disorders ,medicine.disease ,Respiratory Function Tests ,Asthma, Exercise-Induced ,Chronic cough ,Breath Tests ,Cough ,030228 respiratory system ,Physical Fitness ,Child, Preschool ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Exhaled nitric oxide ,Exercise Test ,Female ,medicine.symptom ,business ,Switzerland - Abstract
OBJECTIVE Exercise-induced respiratory symptoms (EIS) are common in childhood and reflect different diseases that can be difficult to diagnose. In children referred to respiratory outpatient clinics for EIS, we compared the diagnosis proposed by the primary care physician with the final diagnosis from the outpatient clinic and described diagnostic tests and treatments. DESIGN Observational study of respiratory outpatients aged 0-16 years nested in the Swiss Paediatric Airway Cohort (SPAC). PATIENTS We included children with EIS as main reason for referral. Information about diagnostic investigations, final diagnosis, and treatment prescribed came from outpatient records. We included 214 children (mean age 12 years, range 2-17, 54% males) referred for EIS. RESULTS The final diagnosis was asthma in 115 (54%), extrathoracic dysfunctional breathing (DB) in 35 (16%), thoracic DB in 22 (10%), asthma plus DB in 23 (11%), insufficient fitness in 10 (5%), chronic cough in 6 (3%), and other diagnoses in 3 (1%). Final diagnosis differed from referral diagnosis in 115 (54%, 95%-CI 46-60%). Spirometry, body plethysmography, and exhaled nitric oxide were performed in almost all, exercise-challenge tests in a third, and laryngoscopy in none. 91% of the children with a final diagnosis of asthma were prescribed inhaled medication and 50% of children with DB were referred to physiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS Diagnosis given at the outpatient clinic often differed from the diagnosis proposed by the referring physician. Diagnostic evaluations, management, and follow-up differed between clinics and diagnostic groups highlighting the need for evidence-based diagnostic guidelines and harmonised procedures for children seen for EIS. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
- Published
- 2020
24. Predictors of asthma control differ from predictors of asthma attacks in children: the Swiss Paediatric Airway Cohort
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Cristina Ardura-Garcia, Maria Christina Mallet, Daria Olena Berger, Karin Hoyler, Anja Jochmann, Alena Kuhn, Alexander Moeller, Nicolas Regamey, Florian Singer, Eva Sophie Lunde Pedersen, Claudia Elisabeth Kuehni, and on behalf of SPAC Study Team
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immune system diseases ,respiratory tract diseases - Abstract
Background It is unclear if predictors of asthma attacks are the same as those of asthma symptom control in children. We evaluated predictors for these two outcomes in a clinical cohort study. Methods The Swiss Paediatric Airway Cohort (SPAC) is a multicentre prospective clinical cohort of children referred to paediatric pulmonologists. This analysis included 516 children diagnosed with asthma. At baseline, we collected sociodemographic information, symptoms, personal and family history and environmental exposures from a parental baseline questionnaire, and treatment and test results from hospital records. Outcomes were assessed 1 year later by parental questionnaire: asthma control in the last 4 weeks as defined by GINA guidelines, and asthma attacks defined as any unscheduled visit for asthma in the past year. We used logistic regression to identify and compare predictors for suboptimal asthma control and asthma attacks. Results At follow-up, 114/516 children (22%), reported suboptimal asthma control, and 114 (22%) an incident asthma attack. Only 37 (7%) reported both. Suboptimal asthma control was associated with poor symptom control at baseline, wheeze triggered by allergens, colds and exercise, a more intense treatment at baseline, history of preschool and persistent wheeze, and exposure to tobacco smoke. Incident asthma attacks were associated with previous episodes of severe wheeze and asthma attacks, younger age and non-Swiss origin. Lung function, exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and allergic sensitization at baseline were not associated with control or attacks. Conclusion Predictors of suboptimal control differ from those of attacks. Prediction tools and preventive efforts should differentiate these two asthma outcomes.
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- 2022
25. Changes in lung clearance index in children with cystic fibrosis -- guidance for clinical practice
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Bettina Frauchiger, Kathryn Ramsey, Jakob Usemann, Elisabeth Kieninger, Carmen Casaulta, Daniel Sirtes, Sophie Yammine, Ben Spycher, Alexander Moeller, and Philipp Latzin
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sense organs - Abstract
Rationale The lung clearance index (LCI) is increasingly being used in the clinical surveillance of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). However, there are limited data on long-term variability and clinically relevant changes in LCI during routine clinical surveillance. Objectives To evaluate long-term variability of LCI and propose a threshold for a clinically relevant change. Methods Children with CF aged 4-18 years performed LCI measurements every three months as part of routine clinical surveillance during 2011-2020 in two centers. The variability of LCI during periods of clinical stability was assessed using mixed-effects models and was used to identify thresholds for clinically relevant changes. Results Repeated LCI measurements of acceptable quality (N= 858) were available in 100 patients with CF. Variability of repeated LCI measurements over time expressed as coefficient of variation (CV%) was 7.4%. The upper limit of normal (ULN) for relative changes in LCI between visits was 19%. Conclusion We report the variability of LCI in children and adolescents with CF during routine clinical surveillance. According to our data, a change in LCI beyond 19% may be considered clinically relevant. These findings will help guide clinical decisions according to LCI changes.
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- 2022
26. Standardization of Reporting Obstructive Airway Disease in Children: A National Delphi Process
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Carmen C.M. de Jong, Cristina Ardura-Garcia, Eva S.L. Pedersen, Maria Christina Mallet, Dominik Mueller-Suter, Anja Jochmann, Florian Singer, Carmen A. Casaulta, Nicolas Regamey, Alexander Moeller, Myrofora Goutaki, Claudia E. Kuehni, University of Zurich, and Kuehni, Claudia E
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10036 Medical Clinic ,2723 Immunology and Allergy ,Immunology and Allergy ,610 Medicine & health ,360 Social problems & social services - Abstract
BACKGROUND Pediatric pulmonologists report asthma and obstructive bronchitis in medical records in a variety of ways and there is no consensus for standardized reporting. OBJECTIVE We investigated which diagnostic labels and features pediatric pulmonologists use to describe obstructive airway disease in children and aimed to reach consensus for standardized reporting. METHODS We obtained electronic health records from 562 children participating in the Swiss Pediatric Airway Cohort (SPAC) from 2017 to 2018. We reviewed the diagnosis section of the letters written by pediatric pulmonologists to referring physicians and extracted the terms used to describe the diagnosis. We grouped these terms into diagnostic labels (e.g., asthma) and features (e.g., triggers) using qualitative thematic framework analysis. We also assessed how frequently the different terms were used. Results were fed into a modified Delphi process to reach consensus on standardized reporting. RESULTS Pediatric pulmonologists used 123 different terms to describe the diagnosis, which we grouped into 6 diagnostic labels and 17 features. Consensus from the Delphi process resulted in the following recommendations: (i) to use the diagnostic label "asthma" for children older than 5 years and "obstructive bronchitis" or "suspected asthma" for children younger than 5 years; (ii) to accompany the diagnosis with relevant features: diagnostic certainty, triggers, symptom control, risk of exacerbation, atopy, treatment adherence, and symptom perception. CONCLUSION We found great heterogeneity in the reporting of obstructive airway disease among pediatric pulmonologists. The proposed standardized reporting will simplify communication among physicians and improve quality of research based on electronic health records.
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- 2022
27. Swiss national prospective surveillance of paediatric Mycoplasma pneumoniae-associated encephalitis
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Patrick M. Meyer Sauteur, Alexander Moeller, Christa Relly, Christoph Berger, Barbara Plecko, David Nadal, and Swiss Pediatric Surveillance Unit (SPSU)
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children ,encephalitis ,Epidemiology ,Mycoplasma pneumoniae ,pneumonia ,Medicine - Published
- 2016
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28. Asthma in One Breath - Metabolic Signatures for Allergic Asthma in Children by Online Breath Analysis: An Observational Study
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Ronja Weber, Bettina Streckenbach, Lara Welti, Demet Inci, Malcolm Kohler, Nathan Perkins, Renato Zenobi, Srdjan Micic, and Alexander Moeller
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History ,Polymers and Plastics ,Business and International Management ,Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering - Published
- 2022
29. Differentiation of Cystic Fibrosis-Related Pathogens by Volatile Organic Compound Analysis with Secondary Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry
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Ronja Weber, Christoph Berger, Renato Zenobi, Tobias Bruderer, Jérôme Kaeslin, Srdjan Micic, Simona Olivia Müller, Alexander Moeller, Nathan Perkins, and University of Zurich
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Pathogen detection ,Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism ,Electrospray ionization ,610 Medicine & health ,Mass spectrometry ,Microbiology ,Biochemistry ,Cystic fibrosis ,Article ,cystic fibrosis ,Endocrinology ,In vivo ,secondary electrospray ionization ,pathogen profiles ,volatile organic compounds ,recursive feature elimination ,medicine ,Volatile organic compound ,high-resolution mass spectrometry ,Molecular Biology ,chemistry.chemical_classification ,biology ,putative compound identification ,biology.organism_classification ,medicine.disease ,QR1-502 ,In vitro ,Diabetes and Metabolism ,chemistry ,10036 Medical Clinic ,Bacteria - Abstract
Identifying and differentiating bacteria based on their emitted volatile organic compounds (VOCs) opens vast opportunities for rapid diagnostics. Secondary electrospray ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry (SESI-HRMS) is an ideal technique for VOC-biomarker discovery because of its speed, sensitivity towards polar molecules and compound characterization possibilities. Here, an in vitro SESI-HRMS workflow to find biomarkers for cystic fibrosis (CF)-related pathogens P. aeruginosa, S. pneumoniae, S. aureus, H. influenzae, E. coli and S. maltophilia is described. From 180 headspace samples, the six pathogens are distinguishable in the first three principal components and predictive analysis with a support vector machine algorithm using leave-one-out cross-validation exhibited perfect accuracy scores for the differentiation between the groups. Additionally, 94 distinc-tive features were found by recursive feature elimination and further characterized by SESI-MS/MS, which yielded 33 putatively identified biomarkers. In conclusion, the six pathogens can be distin-guished in vitro based on their VOC profiles as well as the herein reported putative biomarkers. In the future, these putative biomarkers might be helpful for pathogen detection in vivo based on breath samples from patients with CF., Metabolites, 11 (11), ISSN:2218-1989
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- 2021
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30. Age and body mass index affect fit of spirometry Global Lung Function Initiative references in schoolchildren
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Rebeca, Mozun, Cristina, Ardura-Garcia, Eva S L, Pedersen, Jakob, Usemann, Florian, Singer, Philipp, Latzin, Alexander, Moeller, and Claudia E, Kuehni
- Abstract
References from the Global Lung Function Initiative (GLI) are widely used to interpret children's spirometry results. We assessed fit for healthy schoolchildren.LuftiBus in the School was a population-based cross-sectional study undertaken in 2013-2016 in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland. Parents and their children aged 6-17 years answered questionnaires about respiratory symptoms and lifestyle. Children underwent spirometry in a mobile lung function lab. We calculated GLI-based z-scores for forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEVWe analysed data from 2036 children with valid FEVGLI-based FEV
- Published
- 2021
31. Respiratory symptoms do not reflect functional impairment in early CF lung disease
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Alexander Moeller, Renate Spinas, Carmen Casaulta, Marc-Alexander Oestreich, Insa Korten, Daniel Trachsel, Urs Frey, Kathryn A. Ramsey, Ben D. Spycher, Philipp Latzin, Isabelle Rochat, Dominik Mueller-Suter, Andreas Jung, University of Zurich, and Ramsey, Kathryn
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine ,Pediatrics ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Functional impairment ,Respiratory rate ,First year of life ,610 Medicine & health ,Lung Clearance Index ,Cystic fibrosis ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,360 Social problems & social services ,Medicine ,2735 Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Respiratory system ,business.industry ,medicine.disease ,030104 developmental biology ,030228 respiratory system ,Lung disease ,10036 Medical Clinic ,2740 Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,business ,Cohort study - Abstract
Background Lung disease can develop within the first year of life in infants with cystic fibrosis (CF). However, the frequency and severity of respiratory symptoms in infancy are not known. Methods We assessed respiratory symptoms in 50 infants with CF and 50 healthy matched controls from two prospective birth cohort studies. Respiratory symptoms and respiratory rate were documented by standardized weekly interviews throughout the first year. Infants performed multiple breath washout in the first weeks of life. Results We analyzed 4552 data points (2217 in CF). Respiratory symptoms (either mild or severe) were not more frequent in infants with CF (OR:1.1;95% CI:[0.76, 1.59]; p=0.6). Higher lung clearance index and higher respiratory rate in infants with CF were not associated with respiratory symptoms. Conclusions We found no difference in respiratory symptoms between healthy and CF infants. These data indicate that early CF lung disease may not be captured by clinical presentation alone.
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- 2021
32. Age and body mass index affect fit of spirometry GLI references in schoolchildren
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Claudia E. Kuehni, Florian Singer, Philipp Latzin, Eva S.L. Pedersen, Jakob Usemann, Cristina Ardura-Garcia, Rebeca Mozun, and Alexander Moeller
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Spirometry ,education.field_of_study ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,business.industry ,Population ,respiratory system ,Overweight ,Affect (psychology) ,FEV1/FVC ratio ,Linear regression ,medicine ,medicine.symptom ,business ,education ,Body mass index ,Lung function ,Demography - Abstract
BackgroundReferences from the Global Lung Function Initiative (GLI) are widely used to interpret children’s spirometry results. We assessed fit for healthy schoolchildren.MethodsLuftiBus in the school (LUIS) is a population-based cross-sectional study done from 2013-2016 in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland. Parents and children aged 6-17 years answered questionnaires about respiratory symptoms and lifestyle. Children underwent spirometry in a mobile lung function lab. We calculated GLI-based z-scores for FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, and FEF25-75for healthy White participants. We defined appropriate fit to GLI references by mean values ±0.5 z-scores. We assessed if fit varied by age, body mass index, height, and sex using linear regression models.ResultsWe analysed data from 2036 children with valid FEV1measurements of which 1762 also had valid FVC measurements. The median age was 12.2 years. Fit was appropriate for children aged 6-11 years for all indices. In adolescents aged 12-17 years, fit was appropriate for FEV1/FVC (mean: -0.09; SD: 1.02) z-scores, but not for FEV1(mean: -0.62; SD: 0.98), FVC (mean: -0.60; SD: 0.98), and FEF25-75(mean: -0.54; SD: 1.02). FEV1, FVC, and FEF25-75z-scores fitted better in children considered overweight (means: -0.25, -0.13, -0.38) than normal weight (means: -0.55, -0.50, -0.55;p-trend: 1, FVC, and FEF25-75z-scores depended on both age and height (pinteraction: 0.034, 0.019, ConclusionGLI-based FEV1, FVC, and FEF25-75z-scores do not fit White Swiss adolescents well. This should be considered when using reference equations for clinical decision making, research and international comparison.Take home messageOur study suggests GLI-based FEV1, FVC, and FEF25-75z-scores over detect abnormal lung function in Swiss adolescents, and more so among slimmer adolescents, which has important implications for clinical care, research, and international comparisons.
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- 2021
33. Feasibility of nasal NO screening in healthy newborns
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Peter Salfeld, A Aline, Alexander Moeller, Flurina Buechel, Jakob Usemann, Andreas Jung, University of Zurich, and Jung, Andreas
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Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Screening test ,Niox mino ,First line ,610 Medicine & health ,Nose ,Nitric Oxide ,Gastroenterology ,Interquartile range ,Tidal breathing ,Internal medicine ,otorhinolaryngologic diseases ,Medicine ,Humans ,2735 Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Primary ciliary dyskinesia ,business.industry ,Kartagener Syndrome ,Infant, Newborn ,Diagnostic test ,Infant ,medicine.disease ,One nostril ,Breath Tests ,10036 Medical Clinic ,2740 Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine ,Child, Preschool ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Feasibility Studies ,business - Abstract
BACKGROUND Nasal nitric oxide (nNO) measurement is recommended as a first line screening test for primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD). While reliable velum- and non-velum-closure techniques exist for preschool children and older individuals, no data are available for neonates. AIMS To determine feasibility of nNO screening and nNO concentration in healthy newborns in the first week of life. METHODS Nasal NO was analyzed in tidal breathing during natural sleep using a CLD-88 sp NO analyzer (chemoluminescence sensor) and a NIOX MINO (electrochemical sensor). Test success and nNO concentration were determined and compared between the two devices. RESULTS Nasal NO was measured in 62 healthy neonates within the first week of life. Feasibility of nNO measurement was 100% for at least one nostril and 85.5% for both nostrils using the chemoluminescence device, but significantly lower with the electrochemical device (85.5% and 53.2%; p
- Published
- 2021
34. Effect of COVID19 preventive measures on respiratory infections and symptoms in children
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Anja Jochmann, Claudia E. Kuehni, Dominik Mueller-Suter, Sylvain Blanchon, Karin Hoyler, Alexander Moeller, Nicolas Regamey, Maria Christina Mallet, Juerg Barben, Carmen Casaulta, Daria Berger, Philipp Latzin, Eva S.L. Pedersen, and Cristina Ardura-Garcia
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Pediatrics ,medicine.medical_specialty ,business.industry ,medicine ,Respiratory system ,business - Published
- 2021
35. Natural Variability of Clinically Measured Lung Clearance Index in Children with Cystic Fibrosis
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Elisabeth Kieninger, Ben D. Spycher, Daniel Sirtes, Philipp Latzin, Sophie Yammine, Jakob Usemann, Carmen Casaulta, Kathryn A. Ramsey, Bettina Sarah Frauchiger, and Alexander Moeller
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medicine.medical_specialty ,business.industry ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,Natural variability ,Lung Clearance Index ,business ,medicine.disease ,Cystic fibrosis ,Gastroenterology - Published
- 2021
36. Assessing cough in epidemiological studies: does it matter which question is used?
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Claudia E. Kuehni, Philipp Latzin, Maria Christina Mallet, Rebeca Mozun, Alexander Moeller, and Cristina Ardura-Garcia
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medicine.medical_specialty ,business.industry ,Environmental health ,Epidemiology ,medicine ,business - Published
- 2021
37. The way to standardized reporting of obstructive airway disease in children – a national Delphi process
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Eva S.L. Pedersen, Myrofora Goutaki, Anja Jochmann, Nicolas Regamey, Cristina Ardura-Garcia, Florian Singer, Claudia E. Kuehni, Carmen C.M. de Jong, Alexander Moeller, Dominik Mueller-Suter, and Carmen Casaulta
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,business.industry ,Obstructive airway disease ,Delphi method ,Medicine ,business ,Intensive care medicine - Published
- 2021
38. Biologicals in childhood severe asthma
- Author
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Kenneth A Macleod, Susanne M. Reinartz, Elisangela Santos-Valente, Erik Melén, Antoine Deschildre, Patrick Sammut, Kirsten Hansen, Sebastian Kerzel, Klaus Bønnelykke, Louise Fleming, Cornelis M. van Drunen, Monika Gappa, Urs Frey, Uros Krivec, Mihai Craiu, André Moreira, Jakob Niggel, Antonio Nieto Garcia, Predrag Minić, Rola Abou Taam, Gerard H. Koppelman, Iren Tzotcheva, Györgyi Mezei, Heike Buntrock-Döpke, Susanne J. H. Vijverberg, Alexandru Ulmeanu, Mika J. Mäkelä, Laurence Hanssens, Michael Kabesch, Stijn Verhulst, Stefania Arasi, Nicolaus Schwerk, Jaime Lozano Blasco, Matthias V. Kopp, Milos Jesenak, Alexander Moeller, Anke H. Maitland-van der Zee, Niels W.P. Rutjes, Uroš Potočnik, Karina Jahnz-Rozyk, Paraskevi Xepapadaki, Renato Cutrera, Zsolt Szépfalusi, Arzu Bakirtas, Petr Pohunek, Mirjana Turkalj, Basil Elnazir, Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto, HUS Inflammation Center, Department of Dermatology, Allergology and Venereology, University of Helsinki, Graduate School, Paediatric Pulmonology, AII - Inflammatory diseases, APH - Personalized Medicine, AII - Amsterdam institute for Infection and Immunity, Pulmonology, Ear, Nose and Throat, and Groningen Research Institute for Asthma and COPD (GRIAC)
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Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Status quo ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Severe asthma ,MEDLINE ,Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized ,Public access ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Original Research Articles ,Medicine ,Humans ,Child ,030304 developmental biology ,media_common ,Asthma ,0303 health sciences ,Childhood asthma ,business.industry ,medicine.disease ,3. Good health ,Discontinuation ,Treatment Outcome ,030228 respiratory system ,Family medicine ,3121 General medicine, internal medicine and other clinical medicine ,Structured interview ,Human medicine ,business - Abstract
Introduction Severe asthma is a rare disease in children, for which three biologicals, anti-immunoglobulin E, anti-interleukin-5 and anti-IL4RA antibodies, are available in European countries. While global guidelines exist on who should receive biologicals, knowledge is lacking on how those guidelines are implemented in real life and which unmet needs exist in the field. In this survey, we aimed to investigate the status quo and identify open questions in biological therapy of childhood asthma across Europe. Methods Structured interviews regarding experience with biologicals, regulations on access to the different treatment options, drug selection, therapy success and discontinuation of therapy were performed. Content analysis was used to analyse data. Results We interviewed 37 experts from 25 European countries and Turkey and found a considerable range in the number of children treated with biologicals per centre. All participating countries provide public access to at least one biological. Most countries allow different medical disciplines to prescribe biologicals to children with asthma, and only a few restrict therapy to specialised centres. We observed significant variation in the time point at which treatment success is assessed, in therapy duration and in the success rate of discontinuation. Most participating centres intend to apply a personalised medicine approach in the future to match patients a priori to available biologicals. Conclusion Substantial differences exist in the management of childhood severe asthma across Europe, and the need for further studies on biomarkers supporting selection of biologicals, on criteria to assess therapy response and on how/when to end therapy in stable patients is evident., This study reveals enormous differences in therapy with biologicals for childhood severe asthma across Europe, and demonstrates the urgent need for harmonisation in medication choice, definition of therapy success and how/when to discontinue treatment https://bit.ly/3tnJMTY
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- 2021
39. Evidence-based European guidelines for the diagnosis of asthma in children aged 5-16 years
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Erol A. Gaillard, Alexander Moeller, and University of Zurich
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Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine ,Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Evidence-based practice ,Evidence-Based Medicine ,Adolescent ,business.industry ,MEDLINE ,610 Medicine & health ,medicine.disease ,Asthma ,Europe ,10036 Medical Clinic ,2740 Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine ,Family medicine ,Child, Preschool ,Practice Guidelines as Topic ,medicine ,Humans ,570 Life sciences ,biology ,Female ,business ,Child - Published
- 2021
40. Eradication of early P. aeruginosa infection in children <7 years of age with cystic fibrosis: The early study
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John Tsanakas, I. Asherova, Olga Bede, Melinda Solomon, Gerhild Angyalosi, Jutta Hammermann, Katalin Bolbás, Robert Maykut, Michael Fayon, Elena Chertok, Martha L McKinney, Nipa Alon, Ferenc Gonczi, Felix Ratjen, Vladimir Bulatov, Anne Munck, Carla Colombo, Essam Gouda, and Alexander Moeller
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Male ,0301 basic medicine ,Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Time Factors ,Cystic Fibrosis ,medicine.disease_cause ,Placebo ,Cystic fibrosis ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Double-Blind Method ,Recurrence ,Internal medicine ,Administration, Inhalation ,medicine ,Clinical endpoint ,Tobramycin ,Humans ,Pseudomonas Infections ,Child ,Adverse effect ,Retrospective Studies ,Cross-Over Studies ,Intention-to-treat analysis ,Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ,Pseudomonas aeruginosa ,business.industry ,Sputum ,Infant ,medicine.disease ,Anti-Bacterial Agents ,Treatment Outcome ,030104 developmental biology ,030228 respiratory system ,Child, Preschool ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Female ,medicine.symptom ,business ,Follow-Up Studies ,medicine.drug - Abstract
Antibiotic eradication treatment is the standard-of-care for cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with early Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa)-infection; however, evidence from placebo-controlled trials is limited.This double-blind, placebo-controlled trial randomised CF patients7 years (N = 51) with early Pa-infection to tobramycin inhalation solution (TOBI 300 mg) or placebo (twice daily) for 28 days with an optional cross-over on Day 35. Primary endpoint was proportion of patients having throat swabs/sputum free of Pa on Day 29.On Day 29, 84.6% patients in the TOBI versus 24.0% in the placebo group were Pa-free (p 0.001). At the end of the cross-over period, 76.0% patients receiving TOBI in the initial 28 days were Pa-free compared to 47.8% receiving placebo initially. Adverse events were consistent with the TOBI safety profile with no differences between TOBI and placebo.TOBI was effective in eradicating early Pa-infection with a favourable safety profile in young CF patients.NCT01082367.
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- 2019
41. Prevalence of childhood cough in epidemiological studies: does it matter which question we use?
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Claudia E. Kuehni, Alexander Moeller, Maria Christina Mallet, Cristina Ardura-Garcia, Rebeca Mozun, and Philipp Latzin
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education.field_of_study ,medicine.medical_specialty ,business.industry ,Population ,Epidemiology ,medicine ,education ,business ,respiratory tract diseases ,Demography - Abstract
We assessed how prevalence estimates of cough in 6-17-year-olds vary depending on the question asked in the population-based Luftibus in the school (LUIS) study. 3427 parents answered three different questions on cough. The prevalence of parent-reported cough varied substantially depending on the question: 25% of parents reported cough without a cold, 11% dry night cough and 5% that their child coughs more than other children. There was only partial overlap with 3% answering yes to all questions. This suggests that the exact question used to assess cough strongly affects prevalence estimates and must be taken into account when comparing studies.
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- 2021
42. Agreement of parent- and child-reported wheeze: are they associated with FeNO and lung function?
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Florian Singer, Rebeca Mozun, Alexander Moeller, Philipp Latzin, Myrofora Goutaki, Jakob Usemann, Pedersen Esl, Claudia E. Kuehni, and Cristina Ardura-Garcia
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medicine.medical_specialty ,Childhood asthma ,Pediatrics ,business.industry ,medicine.disease ,respiratory tract diseases ,FEV1/FVC ratio ,Wheeze ,Epidemiology ,medicine ,medicine.symptom ,business ,Lung function ,Respiratory health ,Asthma - Abstract
In epidemiological studies, childhood asthma is usually assessed with questionnaires directed at parents or children, and these may give different answers. We studied how well parents and children agreed when asked to report symptoms of wheeze and investigated whose answers were closer to measurable traits of asthma.LuftiBus in the schoolis a cross-sectional survey of respiratory health among Swiss schoolchildren aged 6-17 years. We applied questionnaires to parents and children asking about wheeze and exertional wheeze in the past year. We assessed agreement between parent-child answers with Cohen’s kappa (k), and associations of answers from children and parents with physiological measurements (i.e. FeNO and FEV1/FVC), using quantile regression.We received questionnaires from 3079 children and their parents. Agreement was poor for reported wheeze (k=0.37) and exertional wheeze (k=0.36). Median FeNO varied when wheeze was reported by children (19 ppb, IQR: 9-44), parents (22 ppb, IQR: 12-46), both (31 ppb, IQR: 16-55) or neither (11 ppb, IQR: 7-19). Median absolute FEV1/FVC was the same when wheeze was reported by children (84%, IQR: 78-89) and by parents (84%, IQR: 78-89), lower when reported by both (82%, IQR: 78-87) and higher when reported by neither (87%, IQR: 82-91). For exertional wheeze findings were similar. Results did not differ by age or sex.Our findings suggest that surveying both parents and children and combining their responses can help us to better identify children with measurable asthma traits.Take home messageThere is poor agreement between schoolchildren and their parents when reporting current wheeze. However, wheeze correlates best with lung function and FeNO when reported by both children and parents.
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- 2021
43. Reported symptoms differentiate diagnoses in children with exercise-induced respiratory problems: findings from the Swiss Paediatric Airway Cohort (SPAC)
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Nicolas Regamey, Alexander Moeller, Florian Singer, Karin Hoyler, Cristina Ardura-Garcia, Carmen Cornelia Maria de Jong, Maria Christina Mallet, Claudia E. Kuehni, Juerg Barben, Myrofora Goutaki, Carmen Casaulta, Eva S.L. Pedersen, Dominik Mueller-Suter, Anja Jochmann, University of Zurich, and Kuehni, Claudia E
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Pediatrics ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Adolescent ,610 Medicine & health ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,360 Social problems & social services ,medicine ,Humans ,Immunology and Allergy ,Outpatient clinic ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Expiration ,Child ,Asthma ,business.industry ,Infant, Newborn ,Infant ,Respiration Disorders ,medicine.disease ,Confidence interval ,Chronic cough ,Dyspnea ,Cough ,030228 respiratory system ,10036 Medical Clinic ,Child, Preschool ,Relative risk ,Cohort ,2723 Immunology and Allergy ,Etiology ,Female ,Observational study ,medicine.symptom ,Airway ,business ,Switzerland - Abstract
BackgroundExercise-induced breathing problems with similar clinical presentations can have different aetiologies. This makes distinguishing common diagnoses such as asthma, extrathoracic and thoracic dysfunctional breathing (DB), insufficient fitness, and chronic cough difficult.ObjectiveWe studied which parent-reported, exercise-induced symptoms (EIS) can help distinguish diagnoses of EIS in children seen in respiratory outpatient clinics.MethodsThis study was nested in the Swiss Paediatric Airway Cohort (SPAC), an observational study of children aged 0-17 years referred to paediatric respiratory outpatient clinics in Switzerland. We studied children aged 6-17 years and compared information on EIS from parent-completed questionnaires between children with different diagnoses. We used multinomial regression to analyse whether parent-reported symptoms differed between diagnoses (asthma as base).ResultsAmong 1109 children, EIS were reported for 732 (66%) (mean age 11 years, 318 of 732 [43%] female). Among the symptoms, dyspnoea best distinguished thoracic DB (relative risk ratio [RRR] 5.4, 95%CI 1.3-22) from asthma. Among exercise triggers, swimming best distinguished thoracic DB (RRR 2.4, 95%CI 1.3-6.2) and asthma plus DB (RRR 1.8, 95%CI 0.9-3.4) from asthma only. Late onset of EIS was less common for extrathoracic DB (RRR 0.1, 95%CI 0.03-0.5) and thoracic DB (RRR 0.4, 95%CI 0.1-1.2) compared with asthma. Localisation of dyspnoea (throat vs. chest) differed between extrathoracic DB (RRR 2.3, 95%CI 0.9-5.8) and asthma. Reported respiration phase (inspiration or expiration) did not help distinguish diagnoses.ConclusionParent-reported symptoms help distinguish different diagnoses in children with EIS. This highlights the importance of physicians obtaining detailed patient histories.Highlights boxWhat is already known about this topic?Experts suggest that information about the symptoms and their onset and duration can assist accurate diagnosis of children with exercise-induced respiratory problems, but no original studies have tested this. (29/35 words)What does this article add to our knowledge?Exercise-induced symptoms reported by parents and further information about their onset, triggers, and effects of treatment help differentiate diagnoses in children with exercise-induced respiratory problems. (25/35 words)How does this study impact current management guidelines?Our results emphasize the importance of taking detailed symptom histories of children with exercise-induced problems, and suggest which questions are most helpful.
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- 2021
44. ERS International Congress 2020: highlights from the Paediatric Assembly
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Erol A. Gaillard, Cristina Ardura-Garcia, Sara Cuevas-Ocaña, Theodore Dassios, Marielle W. Pijnenburg, Liesbeth Duijts, Alexander Moeller, R. Ersu, Robbert J. Rottier, Asterios Kampouras, Abigail Whitehouse, Sara M. Mensink-Bout, Alex Horsley, John A. King, Dirk Schramm, Marijke Proesmans, Emma Williams, Nadine Freitag, Panayiotis Kouis, University of Zurich, Pediatrics, Pediatric Surgery, and Cell biology
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Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Congress Highlights ,lcsh:Medicine ,610 Medicine & health ,Respiratory physiology ,030204 cardiovascular system & hematology ,Cystic fibrosis ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being ,360 Social problems & social services ,Intensive care ,medicine ,Intensive care medicine ,Asthma ,Bronchiectasis ,Lung ,business.industry ,lcsh:R ,Respiratory infection ,medicine.disease ,3. Good health ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,030228 respiratory system ,10036 Medical Clinic ,Bronchitis ,business - Abstract
In this review, the Paediatric Assembly of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) presents a summary of the highlights and most relevant findings in the field of paediatric respiratory medicine presented at the virtual ERS International Congress 2020. Early Career Members of the ERS and Chairs of the different Groups comprising the Paediatric Assembly discuss a selection of the presented research. These cover a wide range of research areas, including respiratory physiology and sleep, asthma and allergy, cystic fibrosis, respiratory infection and immunology, neonatology and intensive care, epidemiology, bronchology and lung and airway development. Specifically, we describe the long-term effect in lung function of premature birth, mode of delivery and chronic respiratory conditions such as cystic fibrosis. In paediatric asthma, we present risk factors, phenotypes and their progression with age, and the challenges in diagnosis. We confirm the value of the lung clearance index to detect early lung changes in cystic fibrosis. For bronchiectasis treatment, we highlight the importance of identifying treatable traits. The use of biomarkers and genotypes to identify infants at risk of long-term respiratory morbidity is also discussed. We present the long-term impact on respiratory health of early life and fetal exposures to maternal obesity and intrauterine hypoxia, mechanical ventilation hyperoxia, aeroallergens, air pollution, vitamin A deficient intake and bronchitis. Moreover, we report on the use of metabolomics and genetic analysis to understand the effect of these exposures on lung growth and alveolar development. Finally, we stress the need to establish multidisciplinary teams to treat complex airway pathologies., Highlights from the Paediatrics Assembly at the #ERSCongress 2020 https://bit.ly/3ptcnFr
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- 2021
45. Asthma
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Mariëlle Pijnenburg, Antonella Frassanito, and Alexander Moeller
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- 2021
46. Multiple breath washout quality control in the clinical setting
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Alexander Moeller, Philipp Latzin, Bettina Sarah Frauchiger, Julia Carlens, Andreas Herger, Kathryn A. Ramsey, and University of Zurich
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Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine ,Male ,Quality Control ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Adolescent ,Cystic Fibrosis ,610 Medicine & health ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,030225 pediatrics ,Medicine ,Humans ,Medical physics ,Child ,MULTIPLE BREATH WASHOUT ,Lung ,Lung function ,Retrospective Studies ,business.industry ,Reference Standards ,Test (assessment) ,Respiratory Function Tests ,030228 respiratory system ,Breath Tests ,10036 Medical Clinic ,Child, Preschool ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Female ,business ,Switzerland - Abstract
BACKGROUND Multiple breath washout (MBW) is increasingly used in the clinical assessment of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Guidelines for MBW quality control (QC) were developed primarily for retrospective assessment and central overreading. We assessed whether real-time QC of MBW data during the measurement improves test acceptability in the clinical setting. METHODS We implemented standardized real-time QC and reporting of MBW data at the time of the measurement in the clinical pediatric lung function laboratory in Bern, Switzerland in children with CF aged 4-18 years. We assessed MBW test acceptability before (31 tests; 89 trials) and after (32 tests; 96 trials) implementation of real-time QC and compared agreement between reviewers. Further, we assessed the implementation of real-time QC at a secondary center in Zurich, Switzerland. RESULTS Before implementation of real-time QC in Bern, only 58% of clinical MBW tests were deemed acceptable following retrospective QC by an experienced reviewer. After implementation of real-time QC, MBW test acceptability improved to 75% in Bern. In Zurich, after implementation of real-time QC, test acceptability improved from 38% to 70%. Further, the agreement between MBW operators and an experienced reviewer for test acceptability was 84% in Bern and 93% in Zurich. CONCLUSION Real-time QC of MBW data at the time of measurement is feasible in the clinical setting and results in improved test acceptability. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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- 2021
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47. Spirometry reference equations for central European populations from school age to old age.
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Mascha K Rochat, Ruediger P Laubender, Daniela Kuster, Otto Braendli, Alexander Moeller, Ulrich Mansmann, Erika von Mutius, and Johannes Wildhaber
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Medicine ,Science - Abstract
BackgroundSpirometry reference values are important for the interpretation of spirometry results. Reference values should be updated regularly, derived from a population as similar to the population for which they are to be used and span across all ages. Such spirometry reference equations are currently lacking for central European populations.ObjectiveTo develop spirometry reference equations for central European populations between 8 and 90 years of age.MaterialsWe used data collected between January 1993 and December 2010 from a central European population. The data was modelled using "Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape" (GAMLSS).ResultsThe spirometry reference equations were derived from 118'891 individuals consisting of 60'624 (51%) females and 58'267 (49%) males. Altogether, there were 18'211 (15.3%) children under the age of 18 years.ConclusionWe developed spirometry reference equations for a central European population between 8 and 90 years of age that can be implemented in a wide range of clinical settings.
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- 2013
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48. Parent-child agreement in reporting of current wheeze: can we trust questionnaires?
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Rebeca Mozun, Florian Singer, Myrofora Goutaki, Jakob Usemann, Alexander Moeller, Claudia E. Kuehni, Eva S.L. Pedersen, Cristina Ardura-Garcia, and Philipp Latzin
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education.field_of_study ,business.industry ,Population ,respiratory system ,medicine.disease ,respiratory tract diseases ,Wheeze ,medicine ,Hay fever ,medicine.symptom ,education ,business ,Respiratory health ,Demography ,Asthma - Abstract
Parental and children’s questionnaires are used to assess respiratory symptoms, but we know little about their validity against objective markers of asthma. We studied agreement between parent and child reported current wheeze in Swiss schoolchildren and its association with FeNO and FEV1. We analysed data from Luftibus in the school, a population-based survey of respiratory health in children done in the canton of Zurich. Parents completed a questionnaire at home, children at school. We analysed parent-child agreement on wheeze with Cohen’s kappa and the association of parent and child reported wheeze with FEV1% predicted (adjusting for age, sex) and FeNO (adjusting also for hay fever) with linear regressions. We received questionnaires from 3113 families (median age 12years, range 6-17). Prevalence of wheeze was similar when analysing children’s (9%) and parents’ (8%) questionnaires, but agreement was poor (kappa 0.37, 0.31-0.43). Wheeze was reported by the parent only in 128 families (4%), child only in 166 (6%) and both in 108 (4%). Children had higher median FeNO and lower mean FEV1% if both reported wheeze (FeNO 31.2; FEV1% 91.3) than parent only (FeNO 17.8; FEV1% 92.4), child only (FeNO 15.5; FEV1% 94.4) or none (FeNO 11.4; FEV1% 94.1). Wheeze was similarly associated with FeNO and FEV1% when using parents’ (FeNO 14.7, 95%CI 11.4-17.9; FEV1% -2.1, 95%CI -3.7 to -0.4) vs children’s answers (FeNO 12.5, 95%CI 9.6-15.4; FEV1% -0.7, 95%CI -2.2 to 0.9). Parent-child agreement on reported wheeze is poor, but both reports are similarly associated with objective markers of asthma. If parents and children both report wheeze, the probability that this reflects true asthma seems high. Method: Lunge Zurich
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- 2020
49. Prevalence and risk factors of chronic cough in Swiss schoolchildren
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Alexander Moeller, Claudia E. Kuehni, Rebeca Mozun, Cristina Ardura-Garcia, Philipp Latzin, and Maria Christina Mallet
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education.field_of_study ,Pediatrics ,medicine.medical_specialty ,business.industry ,Population ,Overweight ,medicine.disease ,Pulmonary function testing ,Chronic cough ,Otitis ,Wheeze ,medicine ,Hay fever ,medicine.symptom ,business ,education ,Asthma - Abstract
Introduction: Population-based studies on chronic cough in children are scarce. Little is known on how chronic cough varies by sex, age and presence or absence of wheeze, and its risk factors are unclear. Methods: In 2013-16, we conducted a field study on respiratory health among schoolchildren in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland (“Luftibus in the school”). Parents and children completed a questionnaire, and lung function tests were done in a mobile lab. In the questionnaire chronic cough was defined as cough lasting more than 3 weeks. We performed a multivariable logistic regression to identify factors associated with chronic cough. Results: We analysed data from 3395 children (age range 6-17 years, 50% girls), of which 319 (9%) reported chronic cough. The prevalence was 10% in girls, 8% in boys, 12% in 6-9 years old and 8% in older children. 73 (23%) of those with chronic cough reported also wheeze. Factors associated with chronic cough in the multivariable regression were: female sex (OR 1.5, 95%CI 1.1-2.0), younger age (OR:1.1, 95%CI 1.0-1.2), overweight (OR 1.5, 95%CI 1.1-2.1), active smoking (≥1/week) (OR 4.1, 95%CI 1.7-10.0), asthma (OR 2.6, 95%CI 1.8-3.9), rhinitis (OR 1.8, 95%CI 1.3-2.5) and otitis media (OR 1.9, 95%CI 1.3-2.7). We found no association with number of siblings, parental smoking, living on a farm, pets, hay fever and snoring. Conclusion: Chronic cough is frequent among schoolchildren in Switzerland, especially girls and younger children and associated with asthma and upper respiratory disease. Overweight and smoking are modifiable risk factors which could be addressed to reduce the burden of chronic cough. Funding: Lunge Zurich, SNF:32003B_162820
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- 2020
50. Smoking behaviour in Swiss schoolchildren: the LuftiBus in the school survey
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Florian Singer, Carmen C.M. de Jong, Rebeca Mozun, Cristina Ardura-Garcia, Myrofora Goutaki, Jakob Usemann, Claudia E. Kuehni, Alexander Moeller, and Philipp Latzin
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Never smokers ,business.industry ,Wheeze ,Smoking prevention ,Environmental health ,medicine ,Active smoking ,medicine.symptom ,Rural area ,Logistic regression ,business ,Respiratory health ,School survey - Abstract
BackgroundSmoking is a major preventable cause of morbidity and mortality. We assessed smoking behaviour in 6-17-year-olds. In 13-17-year-olds, we studied risk factors for smoking and compared the frequency of respiratory problems between those who smoked and those who did not.MethodsWe used data from LuftiBus in the school, a school-based survey of the respiratory health of children carried out 2013-2016 in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland. Participants were asked about cigarette, shisha, and electronic smoking device (ESD) smoking, and respiratory symptoms and diseases. We studied the association between smoking and risk factors using logistic regression.ResultsWe included 3488 schoolchildren with data on active smoking. Five percent of the 6-12-year-olds (90 of 1905) had smoked occasionally (ConclusionSmoking of shishas and ESDs is popular among Swiss adolescents and often combined with smoking cigarettes. Structural smoking prevention strategies should include all forms of smoking including shishas and ESDs.
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- 2020
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