Virtual International Pediatric Pulmonary Network (VIPPN)

Editor's Choice October, 2017

Enrico Lombardi, MD

Two pediatric studies were published in the October 1st issue of the Annals of ATS and the Blue Journal, respectively.

Pittman et al. reported on the respiratory microbiota and its relationship to inflammation in 32 infants with CF from U.S. and Australian centers. Microbial diversity was lower in younger subjects and in those receiving daily antistaphylococcal antibiotic prophylaxis. In lavage samples, reduced diversity correlated with lower interleukin 8 concentration and absolute neutrophil count. These results suggest modification of the respiratory microbiome in infants with CF may influence airway inflammation (1).

Saenen et al. detected urinary carbon load in 289 children (aged 9-12 yr) using white-light generation under femtosecond pulsed laser illumination. The urinary black carbon load was positively associated with medium-term to chronic residential black carbon exposure and children who lived closer to a major road had consistently higher urinary black carbon load. These results suggest that urinary black carbon reflects internal systemic black carbon particles cleared from the circulation into the urine, allowing investigators to unravel the complexity of particulate-related health effects (2).

References

  1. Pittman JE, Wylie KM, Akers K, Storch GA, Hatch J, Quante J, Frayman KB, Clarke N, Davis M, Stick SM, Hall GL, Montgomery G, Ranganathan S, Davis SD, Ferkol TW, and Australian Respiratory Early Surveillance Team for Cystic Fibrosis. Association of antibiotics, airway microbiome, and inflammation in infants with cystic fibrosis. Ann Am Thorac Soc 2017;14:1548-1555.

  2. Saenen ND, Bové H, Steuwe C, Roeffaers MBJ, Provost EB, Lefebvre W, Vanpoucke C, Ameloot M, Nawrot TS. Children's urinary environmental carbon load. A novel marker reflecting residential ambient air pollution exposure? Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2017;196:873-881.