Gain in lung function after weight reduction in severely obese children.

Aim: The primary objective of this prospective cohort study was to determine the effect of weight loss on pulmonary function values in extremely obese children.

Methods: Obese children participated in a 26-week in-hospital or outpatient multidisciplinary treatment programme. Waist circumference was measured and pulmonary function tests were performed at enrolment and after 6 months.

Participation in daily life of children with asthma.

Asthma can have a negative effect on psychological and social well-being in childhood. Sports participation, school attendance, and quality of life are important issues for children with asthma and their parents. However, a structural evaluation of these factors is not always incorporated in the routine medical approach of children with asthma.

[Guideline 'Treating asthma in children' for pediatric pulmonologists (2nd revised edition). I. Diagnosis and prevention].

The case history and physical examination form the corner-stones for asthma diagnosis. Establishing the correct diagnosis may be difficult in infants and preschool children; in such cases the progression of the symptoms over time is important. Routine laboratory and radiological investigations are advised against.

Switching from conventional to extrafine aerosol beclomethasone dipropionate therapy in children: a 6-month, open- label, randomized trial.

Background: In adults with asthma, hydrofluoralkane-134a beclomethasone dipropionate (HFA-BDP) extrafine aerosol provides equivalent asthma control at half the daily dose of conventional chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-BDP.

Objective: We sought to compare the efficacy and tolerability of switching from CFC-BDP to HFA-BDP at half the daily dose in children with stable asthma.

Methods: This 6-month, open-label, randomized, multicenter study enrolled 520 children aged 5 to 11 years with well-controlled asthma receiving inhaled CFC-BDP or budesonide 200 to 800 microg/d x.