Macrolides for chronic asthma.

BACKGROUND: Asthma is a chronic disease in which inflammation of the airways causes symptomatic coughing, wheezing, and difficult breathing. The inflammation may have different underlying causes, including a reaction to infection in the lungs. Macrolides are antibiotics with antimicrobial and antiinflammatory activities that have been used long-term to control asthma symptoms. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of macrolides for managing chronic asthma. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Airways Group Specialised Register up to April 2015. We also manually searched bibliographies of previously published reviews and conference proceedings and contacted study authors. We included records published in any language in the search. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled clinical trials involving both children and adults with chronic asthma treated with macrolides versus placebo for more than four weeks . DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two reviewers independently examined all records identified in the searches then reviewed the full text of all potentially relevant articles before extracting data in duplicate from all included studies. MAIN RESULTS: Twenty-three studies met the inclusion criteria, randomising a total of 1513 participants to receive macrolide or placebo. The quality of evidence was generally very low due to incomplete reporting of study methodology and clinical data, suspected publication bias, indirectness of study populations, risk of bias and imprecision (because of small numbers of patients and events). Most of the included studies reported data from patients with persistent or severe asthma, but inclusion criteria, interventions and outcomes were highly variable.Macrolides were not found to be better than placebo for the majority of clinical outcomes including exacerbations requiring hospital admission (odds ratio (OR) 0.98, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.13 to 7.23; participants = 143; studies = 2; I(2) = 0%) or at least treatment with oral steroids (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.43 to 1.57; participants = 290; studies = 5; I(2) = 0%). The evidence on symptom scales (standard mean difference (SMD) -0.04, 95% CI -0.36 to 0.28), asthma control (SMD -0.05, 95% CI -0.26 to 0.15), quality of life (mean difference (MD) 0.06, 95% CI -0.12 to 0.24) and rescue medication use (MD -0.26, 95% CI -0.65 to 0.12) was all of very low quality and did not show a benefit of macrolide treatment. There was some evidence that macrolides led to some improvement in lung function (forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1): MD 0.08, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.14), although not on all the measures we assessed. Measures of bronchial hyperresponsiveness were too varied to pool, but most studies showed no clear benefit of macrolide over placebo. Two studies recruiting people taking regular oral corticosteroids suggested macrolides may have a steroid-sparing effect in this population. Macrolides were well tolerated with respect to severe adverse events, although less than half of the studies reported the outcome (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.24 to 2.68; participants = 434; studies = 7; I(2) = 0%). Reporting of specific side effects was too patchy across studies to analyse meaningfully. As already reported in the previous versions of the systematic review, biomarkers of asthma activity, such as sputum and serum level of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) or sputum and serum eosinophils, were lower in patients treated with macrolides, but this was not associated with clinical benefits.Two within-study subgroup analyses showed a possible benefit of macrolides for non-eosinophilic asthma, but it was not possible to investigate this further using the data available for this review. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Existing evidence does not show macrolides to be better than placebo for the majority of clinical outcomes. However, they may have a benefit on some measures of lung function, and we cannot rule out the possibility of other benefits or harms because the evidence is of very low quality due to heterogeneity among patients and interventions, imprecision and reporting biases.The review highlights the need for researchers to report clinically relevant outcomes accurately and completely using guideline definitions of exacerbations and validated scales. The possible benefit of macrolides in patients with non-eosinophilic asthma based on subgroup analyses in two of the included studies may require further investigation

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Background: Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. // Methods: We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung's disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. // Findings: We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung's disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middle-income countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in low-income countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. // Interpretation: Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Embolization of Atrial Septal Defect Occluder Device into the Left Ventricle- Emergency Surgical Removal

With the introduction of technological improvements, invasive cardiologic interventions have become increasingly used alternatives to surgery. Despite its numerous benefits, serious and potentially life-threatening complications of invasive cardiology interventions may occur. We presented a case of attempted percutaneous transcatheter closure of a large ASD in 6 years old boy, complicated by device embolization to the left ventricle necessitating emergency surgical retrieval in the department of cardiac surgery, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), Dhaka.University Heart Journal Vol. 10, No. 2, July 2014; 95-96</jats:p