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Atopic diseases such as atopic dermatitis, food allergy, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and/or asthma are common. In Denmark, however, there are multiple referral pathways for these diseases in the healthcare system and they are poorly understood. To describe how children with atopic diseases navigate their way through the Danish healthcare system, a questionnaire was distributed to children aged ≤ 17 years, who were being treated for atopic diseases between August 2020 and June 2021, either by a practising specialist or a hospital department, in the Capital Region of Denmark. A total of 279 children completed the questionnaire and most were referred to a specialist or to a hospital by their general practitioner. No “common track” to hospital existed for patients with ≥ 3 atopic diseases. These patients were more often referred to a hospital compared with children with 2 atopic diseases or fewer (odds ratio [OR] 3.79; 95% CI 2.07–7.24). The primary determinants for hospital treatment were food allergy (OR 4.69; 95% CI 2.07–10.61) and asthma (OR 2.58; 95% CI 1.18–5.63). In conclusion, children with multiple atopic diseases were more likely to be referred to hospital departments than to practising specialists, mainly due to food allergies., Atopic diseases such as atopic dermatitis, food allergy, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and/or asthma are common. In Denmark, however, there are multiple referral pathways for these diseases in the healthcare system and they are poorly understood. To describe how children with atopic diseases navigate their way through the Danish healthcare system, a questionnaire was distributed to children aged ≤ 17 years, who were being treated for atopic diseases between August 2020 and June 2021, either by a practising specialist or a hospital department, in the Capital Region of Denmark. A total of 279 children completed the questionnaire and most were referred to a specialist or to a hospital by their general practitioner. No "common track" to hospital existed for patients with ≥ 3 atopic diseases. These patients were more often referred to a hospital compared with children with 2 atopic diseases or fewer (odds ratio [OR] 3.79; 95% CI 2.07-7.24). The primary determinants for hospital treatment were food allergy (OR 4.69; 95% CI 2.07-10.61) and asthma (OR 2.58; 95% CI 1.18-5.63). In conclusion, children with multiple atopic diseases were more likely to be referred to hospital departments than to practising specialists, mainly due to food allergies.

Role and importance of vitamin D deficiency in long-term prognosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) still remains undetermined. We tested the hypothesis that among individuals with COPD, those with low concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D have a poorer prognosis compared to those with normal concentrations. We studied 35,153 individuals from the general population aged 20–100 years with 25-hydroxyvitamin D measurements and spirometry, the Copenhagen City Heart Study [median follow-up 21 years (range 13 days–36 years)] and the Copenhagen General Population Study [7.1 years (3 days–13 years)]. Spirometric COPD (n = 5178; 15% of all) was defined as forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1 )/forced vital capacity (FVC)\0.70 in individuals without asthma and clinical COPD (n = 2033; 6%) as FEV 1 /FVC\0.70 and FEV 1 \80% of predicted in ever-smokers aged[40 years without asthma and with cumulative tobacco consumption C 10 pack-years. In spirometric COPD, median age at death in years was 70.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 64.4–71.2) for individuals with 25-hydroxyvitamin D\12.5 nmol/L and 80.3 (74.4–83.4) for those with C 50 nmol/L. In clinical COPD, corresponding values were 69.0 (63.3–70.9) and 76.2 (73.8–78.0). In spirometric COPD, multivariable adjusted hazard ratios for individuals with 25-hydroxyvitamin D\12.5 nmol/L versus those with C 50 nmol/L were 1.35 (95% CI 1.09–1.67) for all-cause mortality, 1.63 (1.00–2.64) for respiratory mortality, 1.14 (0.76–1.70) for cardiovascular mortality, 1.37 (0.90–2.06) for cancer mortality, and 1.61 (1.04–2.49) for other mortality. In clinical COPD, corresponding values were 1.39 (1.07–1.82), 1.57 (0.91–2.72), 0.88 (0.51–1.53), 1.63 (0.99–2.67), and 2.00 (1.12–3.56). Low concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D were associated with an increased risk of death in individuals with COPD. No clear pattern of association could be observed for cause of death; however, there may be an increa

Introduction Mutations in the butyrylcholinesterase enzyme (BChE) can result in prolonged duration of action of the neuromuscular blocking agents, succinylcholine and mivacurium, as BChE hydrolyses these drugs. Hereditary low BChE activity can cause extensively prolonged apnoea during general anaesthesia when these drugs are used. The aim of this study was to describe novel mutations in the butyrylcholinesterase gene (BCHE) in patients who have experienced prolonged duration of action of mivacurium or succinylcholine. Methods The Danish Cholinesterase Research Unit registers patients with prolonged duration of action to succinylcholine and mivacurium. Patients were studied if they had equivocal phenotypes on the basis of BChE activity, biochemical inhibitor reactions and with pedigree if possible. Complete nucleotide sequencing was performed to describe the genotype and pedigree was used to separate the alleles. Multiple sequence alignment of BChE was performed for comparison with other species. Results Genotyping indicated seven novel mutations in the BCHE (I373T, G467S, W518R, L184S, V421A, M462I and R577H). Conclusion We have found seven new variants of the BCHE, which seem to reduce the activity of BChE in patients undergoing anaesthesia involving succinylcholine or mivacurium.