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Background Guidelines recommend regular assessment of asthma control. The Childhood Asthma Control Test (C- ACT) is a clinically validated tool. Aim To evaluate asthma control according to GINA2006, NAEPP, pediatrician's assessment ( PA), and C- ACT in asthmatic children visiting their ambulatory pediatrician or tertiary care pediatric pulmonologist. Methods Demographic data, treatment, and number of severe exacerbations during the previous year were collected. Control was assessed using (i) strict GINA 2006 criteria, (ii) GINA without taking into account the exacerbation item, (iii) NAEPP criteria, and (iv) PA. Children and parents filled out the C- ACT. Results Five hundred and twenty-five children completed the survey (mean age: 7.7 years; 28% ≤ 6 years). 78% had a controller treatment. 58% reported ≥ 1 severe exacerbation. C- ACT was ≤ 19 in 29.5%. Control was not achieved in 76.5%, 55%, 40%, and 34% according to GINA 2006 guidelines, NAEPP guidelines, GINA 2006 without exacerbation criteria, and PA, respectively. C- ACT was significantly lower in children ≤ 6 years old ( P = 0.002) or with severe exacerbations ( P < 0.0001). According to PA, 89% of patients with a C- ACT > 21 were controlled and 85% of patients with a C- ACT < 17 not controlled. Conclusion We observed discrepancies between the different tools applied to assess asthma control in children, and the impact of age and exacerbations. Cutoff point of 19 of C- ACT was not associated with the best performance compared to PA. Assessment of control should take into account symptoms and lung function as suggested by the latest GINA guidelines as well as exacerbation over a long period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute bronchiolitis treatment in children and infants is largely supportive, but chest physiotherapy is routinely performed in some countries. In France, national guidelines recommend a specific type of physiotherapy combining the increased exhalation technique (IET) and assisted cough (AC). Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy of chest physiotherapy (IET + AC) in previously healthy infants hospitalized for a first episode of acute bronchiolitis., Methods and Findings: We conducted a multicenter, randomized, outcome assessor-blind and parent-blind trial in seven French pediatric departments. We recruited 496 infants hospitalized for first-episode acute bronchiolitis between October 2004 and January 2008. Patients were randomly allocated to receive from physiotherapists three times a day, either IET + AC (intervention group, n=246) or nasal suction (NS, control group, n=250). Only physiotherapists were aware of the allocation group of the infant. The primary outcome was time to recovery, defined as 8 hours without oxygen supplementation associated with minimal or no chest recession, and ingesting more than two-thirds of daily food requirements. Secondary outcomes were intensive care unit admissions, artificial ventilation, antibiotic treatment, description of side effects during procedures, and parental perception of comfort. Statistical analysis was performed on an intent-to-treat basis. Median time to recovery was 2.31 days, (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.97-2.73) for the control group and 2.02 days (95% CI 1.96-2.34) for the intervention group, indicating no significant effect of physiotherapy (hazard ratio [HR]=1.09, 95% CI 0.91-1.31, p=0.33). No treatment by age interaction was found (p=0.97). Frequency of vomiting and transient respiratory destabilization was higher in the IET + AC group during the procedure (relative risk [RR]=10.2, 95% CI 1.3-78.8, p=0.005 and RR=5.4, 95% CI 1.6-18.4, p=0.002, respectively). No difference between groups in bradycardia with or without desaturation (RR=1.0, 95% CI 0.2-5.0, p=1.00 and RR=3.6, 95% CI 0.7-16.9, p=0.10, respectively) was found during the procedure. Parents reported that the procedure was more arduous in the group treated with IET (mean difference=0.88, 95% CI 0.33-1.44, p=0.002), whereas there was no difference regarding the assessment of the child's comfort between both groups (mean difference=-0.07, 95% CI -0.53 to 0.38, p=0.40). No evidence of differences between groups in intensive care admission (RR=0.7, 95% CI 0.3-1.8, p=0.62), ventilatory support (RR=2.5, 95% CI 0.5-13.0, p=0.29), and antibiotic treatment (RR=1.0, 95% CI 0.7-1.3, p=1.00) was observed., Conclusions: IET + AC had no significant effect on time to recovery in this group of hospitalized infants with bronchiolitis. Additional studies are required to explore the effect of chest physiotherapy on ambulatory populations and for infants without a history of atopy., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00125450.

Retroperitoneal fibrosis (RF) is a rare disease in children. We report the case of a 15-year-old boy who presented with a 2-month history of dorsal pain and a 2-week history of fever. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate and serum C-reactive protein value were high. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a large heterogeneous retroperitoneal mass, suggestive of RF. Percutaneous biopsy of inguinal lymph node provided the diagnosis of anaplastic large cell lymphoma. This is the first report of RF revealing malignancy in childhood. It emphasizes that malignancy must be carefully searched for in children with unexplained RF.

Objective: Usefulness of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) in severe acute bronchiolitis has been checked. The objective of this descriptive study was to evaluate the feasibility, safety and risk factors of NCPAP failure., Population and Methods: One hundred and forty-five infants were hospitalised in our intensive care unit during the 2 last epidemics (2003-2004, 2004-2005). Among them, 121 needed a respiratory support, either invasive ventilation (N=68) or NCPAP (N=53)., Results: General characteristics were similar during the 2 periods. Percentage of NCPAP failure, defined by tracheal intubation requirement during the stay in paediatric intensive care unit, was quite similar during the 2 periods (25%), but number of NCPAP increased twofold. Whatever the evolution was in the NCPAP group, we observed a significant decrease in respiratory rate (60+/-16 vs 47.5+/-13.7 cycle/min., P<0.001) and PaCO2 (64.3+/-13.8 vs 52.6+/-11.7 mmHg, P=0.001) during NCPAP. Only PRISM calculated at day 1 and initial reduction of PaCO2 were predictive of NCPAP failure. Percentage of ventilator associated pneumonia was similar (22%) between the invasive ventilation group and infants who where intubated because of failure of NCPAP. Duration of respiratory support and stay were reduced in the NCPAP group (P<0.002)., Conclusion: NCPAP appears to be a safe alternative to immediate intubation in infants with severe bronchiolitis.

Rituximab use in severe auto-immune diseases has recently increased. Scattered reports of opportunistic infections were the only reported serious side effects related to rituximab in pediatric patients .Here, we report transient severe acute thrombocytopenia and neutropenia respectively a few days after rituximab infusion in two children with autoimmune haemolytic anaemia. In both cases, cytopenia was reversible in a few days. The occurrence of cytopenias shortly after an infusion and their rapid reversibility suggest that these hematological side-effects were attributable to a direct toxicity of rituximab. Blood cell count must be carefully monitored after rituximab infusion in young children with autoimmune diseases.