BackgroundAir pollution has many negative health effects on the general population, especially children, subjects with underlying chronic disease and the elderly. The aims of this study were to evaluate the effects of traffic-related pollution on the exacerbation of asthma and development of respiratory infections in Italian children suffering from asthma or wheezing compared with healthy subjects and to estimate the association between incremental increases in principal pollutants and the incidence of respiratory symptoms.MethodsThis prospective study enrolled 777 children aged 2 to 18 years (375 with recurrent wheezing or asthma and 402 healthy subjects). Over 12 months, parents filled out a daily clinical diary to report information about respiratory symptoms, type of medication used and healthcare utilization. Clinical data were combined with the results obtained using an air pollution monitoring system of the five most common pollutants.ResultsAmong the 329 children with recurrent wheezing or asthma and 364 healthy subjects who completed follow-up, children with recurrent wheezing or asthma reported significantly more days of fever (p = 0.005) and cough (p < 0.001), episodes of rhinitis (p = 0.04) and tracheitis (p = 0.01), asthma attacks (p < 0.001), episodes of pneumonia (p < 0.001) and hospitalizations (p = 0.02). In the wheezing/asthma cohort, living close to the street with a high traffic density was a risk factor for asthma exacerbations (odds ratio [OR] = 1.79; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13-2.84), whereas living near green areas was found to be protective (OR = 0.50; 95% CI, 0.31 -0.80). An increase of 10 μg/m3 of particulates less than 10 microns in diameter (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) increased the onset of pneumonia only in wheezing/asthmatic children (continuous rate ratio [RR] = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.00-1.17 for PM10; continuous RR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.01-1.17 for NO2).ConclusionsThere is a significant association between traffic-related pollution and the development of asthma exacerbations and respiratory infections in children born to atopic parents and in those suffering from recurrent wheezing or asthma. These findings suggest that environmental control may be crucial for respiratory health in children with underlying respiratory disease.

BackgroundThere are few published data concerning radiological findings and their relationship with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) severity. The aim if this study was to assess radiographic findings in children with CAP of different severity in order to evaluate whether some parameters are associated with severe CAP.MethodsWe analysed the characteristics of parenchymal densities in 335 chest radiographs of otherwise healthy children (173 males; mean age ± standard deviation, 7.5 ± 4.5 years) admitted to our Emergency Room for CAP. Upon admission, chest radiographs were obtained in the two standard projections, and the children with severe or mild/moderate CAP were compared in order to identify any correlations between CAP severity and the radiological findings.ResultsSeventy-six of the 335 enrolled children (22.7%) fulfilled the criteria for severe CAP. In comparison with the children with mild/moderate CAP, in severe CAP there was a significantly greater frequency of a bilateral multifocal distribution (p = 0.01), the simultaneous involvement of ≥3 sites (p = 0.007), and the involvement of the right hilum (p = 0.02). The same results were confirmed in the multiple logistic regression model.ConclusionsThis study shows that radiological findings such as a multifocal bilateral distribution, the simultaneous involvement of at least three sites, and right hilar consolidation are associated with severe CAP in otherwise healthy children, and could be considered markers of disease severity in children with CAP.

BackgroundThe aim of this case–control study was to analyse the clinical characteristics of children with recurrent community-acquired pneumonia (rCAP) affecting different lung areas (DLAs) and compare them with those of children who have never experienced CAP in order to contribute to identifying the best approach to such patients.MethodsThe study involved 146 children with ≥2 episodes of radiographically confirmed CAP in DLA in a single year (or ≥3 episodes in any time frame) with radiographic clearing of densities between occurrences, and 145 age- and gender-matched controls enrolled in Milan, Italy, between January 2009 and December 2012. The demographic and clinical characteristics of the cases and controls were compared, and a comparison was also made between the cases with rCAP (i.e. ≤3 episodes) and those with highly recurrent CAP (hrCAP: i.e. >3 episodes).ResultsGestational age at birth (p = 0.003), birth weight (p = 0.006), respiratory distress at birth (p < 0.001), and age when starting day care attendance (p < 0.001) were significantly different between the cases and controls, and recurrent infectious wheezing (p < 0.001), chronic rhinosinusitis with post-nasal drip (p < 0.001), recurrent upper respiratory tract infections (p < 0.001), atopy/allergy (p < 0.001) and asthma (p < 0.001) were significantly more frequent. Significant risk factors for hrCAP were gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD; p = 0.04), a history of atopy and/or allergy (p = 0.005), and a diagnosis of asthma (p = 0.0001) or middle lobe syndrome (p = 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis, adjusted for age and gender, showed that all of the risk factors other than GERD and wheezing were associated with hrCAP.ConclusionsThe diagnostic approach to children with rCAP in DLAs is relatively easy in the developed world, where the severe chronic underlying diseases favouring rCAP are usually identified early, and patients with chronic underlying disease are diagnosed before the occurrence of rCAP in DLAs. When rCAP in DLAs does occur, an evaluation of the patients’ history and clinical findings make it possible to limit diagnostic investigations.