Regional variation in prevalence of difficult-to-treat asthma and oral corticosteroid use for patients in Australia: heat map analysis.

Background: In Australia, the regional prevalence of difficult-to-treat asthma is unknown. We aimed to describe regional variation in difficult-to-treat asthma prevalence and oral corticosteroid (OCS) use.

Methods: In this retrospective, observational, longitudinal study using data from March 2018-February 2019 in the NostraData longitudinal database, prescriptions dispensed for obstructive airway disease were processed through a high-level algorithm to identify patients with asthma.

Regional variation in intensity of inhaled asthma medication and oral corticosteroid use in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden.

Oral corticosteroids (OCS) are often prescribed to patients with asthma that remains uncontrolled with maintenance therapy. We performed a real-world analysis to describe the geographic distributions of patients with asthma and OCS dispensed in Nordic countries. This observational, retrospective study examined patient-level data from nationally prescribed drug registries from January to December 2018 for individuals aged ≥12 years in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden.

German regional variation of acute and high oral corticosteroid use for asthma.

Objective: To improve understanding of real-world asthma treatment and inform physician education, we evaluated regional variation in asthma prevalence and oral corticosteroid (OCS) use across Germany.

Methods: We developed a machine learning gradient-boosted tree model with IMS® Disease Analyzer electronic medical records, which cover 3% of German patients. This model had a 91% accuracy in predicting the presence of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Asthma-Related Health Outcomes Associated with Short-Acting β-Agonist Inhaler Use: An Observational UK Study as Part of the SABINA Global Program.

Introduction: Patients with asthma typically increase short-acting β-agonists (SABA) use with worsening symptoms. Excessive SABA use may lead to a higher risk of adverse outcomes. We evaluated, in a large population cohort, an association between SABA inhaler use and asthma exacerbations and healthcare utilization.

Oral corticosteroid prescription patterns for asthma in France, Germany, Italy and the UK.

Oral corticosteroids (OCS) are used to manage asthma exacerbations and severe, uncontrolled asthma, but OCS use is associated with adverse effects. We aimed to describe the patterns of OCS use in the real-world management of patients with asthma in western Europe.We used electronic medical records from databases in France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom from July 2011 through February 2018.

SABINA: An Overview of Short-Acting β-Agonist Use in Asthma in European Countries.

Introduction: Globally, individuals with asthma tend to overrely on short-acting β-agonists (SABAs) and underuse inhaled corticosteroids, thereby undertreating the underlying inflammation. Such relief-seeking behavior has been reinforced by long-standing treatment guidelines, which until recently recommended SABA-only use for immediate symptom relief. We aimed to describe the current burden of SABA use among European individuals with asthma within the SABA use IN Asthma (SABINA) program.

Abacavir Use and Risk for Myocardial Infarction and Cardiovascular Events: Pooled Analysis of Data From Clinical Trials.

Background: Some observational studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have suggested an association between abacavir (ABC) use and myocardial infarction (MI), whereas others have not.

Methods: This pooled analysis of 66 phase II-IV RCTs estimates exposure-adjusted incidence rates (IRs) and relative rates (RRs) of MI and cardiovascular events (CVEs) in participants receiving ABC- and non-ABC-containing combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). The primary analysis of MI included ABC-randomized trials with ≥48-week follow-up.

Genomic Analysis Reveals Multi-Drug Resistance Clusters in Group B Streptococcus CC17 Hypervirulent Isolates Causing Neonatal Invasive Disease in Southern Mainland China.

Neonatal invasive disease caused by group B Streptococcus (GBS) represents a significant public health care concern globally. However, data related to disease burden, serotype distribution, and molecular epidemiology in China and other Asian countries are very few and specifically relative to confined regions. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic characteristics of GBS isolates recovered from neonates with invasive disease during 2013-2014 at Guangzhou and Changsha hospitals in southern mainland China.

THE BURDEN OF INVASIVE NEONATAL GROUP B STREPTOCOCCAL (GBS) DISEASE IN THAILAND AND THE PHILIPPINES.

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a leading cause of meningitis and sepsis in infancy, but burden of disease data are scarce for Asia. We performed two hospital-based, prospective, descriptive, observational studies using similar protocols in the Philippines and Thailand to evaluate neonatal GBS disease epidemiology. Infants aged <90 days with a GBS-positive culture from normally sterile sites using routine microbiological standards were eligible for inclusion.

Reference set for performance testing of pediatric vaccine safety signal detection methods and systems.

Background: Safety signal detection in spontaneous reporting system databases and electronic healthcare records is key to detection of previously unknown adverse events following immunization. Various statistical methods for signal detection in these different datasources have been developed, however none are geared to the pediatric population and none specifically to vaccines. A reference set comprising pediatric vaccine-adverse event pairs is required for reliable performance testing of statistical methods within and across data sources.

Trajectories and predictors of developmental skills in healthy twins up to 24 months of age.

Background: Low birth weight and low 5-min Apgar scores have been associated with developmental delay, while older maternal age is a protective factor. Little is known about trajectories and predictors of developmental skills in infant twins, who are generally born with lower birth weights, lower Apgar scores and to older mothers.

Methods: Developmental skills were assessed at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months using the Ages and Stages Questionnaires in 152 twins from the Birmingham Registry for Twin and Heritability Studies.

Heritability of body mass index in pre-adolescence, young adulthood and late adulthood.

Increased body mass index (BMI) is a worldwide health issue. Individual differences in the susceptibility to increased BMI could be related to genes or environment. We performed a systematic review of genetic studies on BMI in pre-adolescence, young adulthood and late adulthood.