Effect of an Exercise Intervention Program on BMI and Distance Covered in the 6 Min Walking Test (6MWT) in Obese Children.

Background/objectives: Childhood obesity appears to be an alarmingly growing global threat. Current evidence has shown that obesity can be successfully managed with interventions targeting movement skills, motor coordination and physical activity. However, data concerning physiotherapy practice are limited.

Cystic fibrosis in Europe: improved lung function and longevity - reasons for cautious optimism, but challenges remain.

Background: Prognosis and disease severity in cystic fibrosis (CF) are linked to declining lung function. To characterise lung function by the number of adults in countries with different levels of Gross National Income (GNI), data from the European Cystic Fibrosis Society Patient Registry were utilised.

Methods: Annual data including age, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV), anthropometry, genotype, respiratory cultures and CF-related diabetes (CFRD) were retrieved between 2011 and 2021.

ESPEN-ESPGHAN-ECFS guideline on nutrition care for cystic fibrosis.

Background: Nutritional status is paramount in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and is directly correlated with morbidity and mortality. The first ESPEN-ESPGHAN-ECFS guidelines on nutrition care for infants, children, and adults with CF were published in 2016. An update to these guidelines is presented.

The role of rigid laryngo-tracheo-bronchoscopy in children with obstructive sleep apnoea: a case series of 65 children.

Objective: To assess the role of laryngo-tracheo-bronchoscopy in children with obstructive sleep apnoea by identifying airway abnormalities at surgery, that occur separately or in addition to adenotonsillar hypertrophy, and examining the correlation with respiratory parameters.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted of children with obstructive sleep apnoea who underwent laryngo-tracheo-bronchoscopy intra-operatively, performed by a single ENT surgeon from February 2016 to July 2019. Pre- and post-operative minimum oxygen saturation, apnoea-hypopnoea index, and oxygen desaturation index were recorded.

Low-frequency oscillometry indices to assess ventilation inhomogeneity in CF patients.

Background: The utility of the forced oscillations technique (FOT) in cystic fibrosis (CF) remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to explore the ability of lower-frequency FOT indices, alone and after adjustment for the lung volume, to assess the extent of ventilation inhomogeneity in CF patients with varying disease severity.

Methods: Forty-five children, adolescents, and adults with CF (age 6.

Mannitol Challenge to Assess Therapy Response in Asthmatic Children: An Interventional Cohort Study.

Bronchial provocation tests, such as the mannitol challenge, can be performed to identify and quantify the severity of bronchial hyperresponsiveness in asthmatic patients. Studies of the mannitol challenge as a monitoring tool in asthmatic children are limited. Our primary aim was to compare the bronchial hyperresponsiveness to mannitol in treatment-naive asthmatic children between baseline and three months after receiving the indicated asthma prophylaxis.

SARS-CoV-2-related bronchiolitis: a multicentre international study.

Background: Bronchiolitis is the main acute lower respiratory tract infection in infants. Data regarding SARS-CoV-2-related bronchiolitis are limited.

Objective: To describe the main clinical characteristics of infants with SARS-CoV-2-related bronchiolitis in comparison with infants with bronchiolitis associated with other viruses.

Physical Activity and Quality of Life among Patients with Cystic Fibrosis.

Background: Physical activity (PA) improves exercise capacity, slows the decline in lung function, and enhances Quality of Life (QoL) in patients with cystic fibrosis (pwCF).

Objectives: The study aimed to evaluate PA and QoL among children with CF compared to healthy controls; the secondary aim was to assess the correlation between PA, QoL, and lung function (FEV1).

Methods: Forty-five children and adolescents with CF and 45 age-matched controls completed two self-administered validated questionnaires: The Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ) and the DISABKIDS for QoL.

Hellenic registry of patients with home mechanical ventilation (HR-HMV): profiling sleep Apnea-Hypopnea syndrome patients across Greece.

Background: Chronic respiratory conditions are a prominent public health issue and thus, building a patient registry might facilitate both policy decision making and improvement of clinical management processes. Hellenic Registry of patients with Home Mechanical Ventilation (HR-HMV) was initiated in 2017 and a web-based platform is used to support patient data collection. Eighteen hospital departments (including sleep labs) across Greece participate in this initiative, focusing on recording data for both children and adult patients supported by mechanical ventilation at home, including patients with Sleep Apnea-Hypopnea Syndrome (SAHS) under Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) therapy.

Physical activity and quality of life in children with well-controlled asthma.

Background: Asthma is the most common disease in childhood. Appropriate management and programs encouraging exercise enable children to enjoy a good quality of life (QoL).

Objective: To assess the association between lung function, physical activity (PA), and QoL in children with well-controlled asthma.

The Exeter Activity Unlimited statement on physical activity and exercise for cystic fibrosis: methodology and results of an international, multidisciplinary, evidence-driven expert consensus.

Background: The roles of physical activity (PA) and exercise within the management of cystic fibrosis (CF) are recognised by their inclusion in numerous standards of care and treatment guidelines. However, information is brief, and both PA and exercise as multi-faceted behaviours require extensive stakeholder input when developing and promoting such guidelines.

Method: On 30 June and 1 July 2021, 39 stakeholders from 11 countries, including researchers, healthcare professionals and patients participated in a virtual conference to agree an evidence-based and informed expert consensus about PA and exercise for people with CF.

Pulmonary exacerbations, airway pathogens, and long-term course of lung clearance index in children and young adults with cystic fibrosis.

Background: Pulmonary exacerbations (PEx), pathogens colonizing the respiratory tract, and patients' age are associated with progressive worsening of lung function among patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). However, the effect of these factors on longitudinal changes of Lung Clearance Index (LCI) remains unclear.

Aim: To assess the role of age, different types of bronchial infection, and PEx on LCI deterioration.

Pulmonary medication adherence among children and adults with cystic fibrosis: Is there an association with disease severity?

Background: Adherence to pulmonary medication is pivotal in delaying the progression of lung disease in cystic fibrosis (CF). Further exploring the consequences of poor adherence and its impact on disease severity may be valuable to personalize CF treatment strategy.

Aim: To evaluate indicators of disease severity among children and adults with CF and investigate which of them are related to pulmonary medication adherence.

Disease severity of people with cystic fibrosis carrying residual function mutations: Data from the ECFS Patient Registry.

Rational: People with cystic fibrosis carrying residual function (RF) mutations are considered to have a mild disease course. This may influence caregivers and patients on how intensive the treatments should be.

Objectives: Characterize disease severity of patients carrying RF mutations, using the European CF Society Patient Registry (ECFSPR) data.

Effects of a Long-Term Wearable Activity Tracker-Based Exercise Intervention on Cardiac Morphology and Function of Patients with Cystic Fibrosis.

Several studies have shown that patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), even at a young age, have pulmonary and cardiac abnormalities. The main complications are cardiac right ventricular (RV) systolic and/or diastolic dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension, which affects their prognosis. Exercise training (ET) is recommended in patients with CF as a therapeutic modality to improve physical fitness and health-related quality of life.

Factors for severe outcomes following SARS-CoV-2 infection in people with cystic fibrosis in Europe.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in people with cystic fibrosis (pwCF) can lead to severe outcomes.

Methods: In this observational study, the European Cystic Fibrosis Society Patient Registry collected data on pwCF and SARS-CoV-2 infection to estimate incidence, describe clinical presentation and investigate factors associated with severe outcomes using multivariable analysis.

Results: Up to December 31, 2020, 26 countries reported information on 828 pwCF and SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Change in CF care during COVID-19 pandemic: Single-center experience in a middle-income setting.

Introduction: The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has demanded care changes for patients with chronic disease. Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) are considered at higher risk of developing severe manifestations in the case of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and a need for new ways of safer care delivery has been required to avoid transmission.

Objectives: To assess the impact of the lockdown during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and remote monitoring on patient's health status and daily maintenance therapy in a middle-income resource setting.

The Fitter the Better? Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing Can Predict Pulmonary Exacerbations in Cystic Fibrosis.

Background: The role of cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in the assessment of prognosis in CF (cystic fibrosis) is crucial. However, as the overall survival of the disease becomes better, the need for examinations that can predict pulmonary exacerbations (PEx) and subsequent deterioration becomes evident.

Methods: Data from a 10-year follow up with CPET and spirometry of CF patients were used to evaluate whether CPET-derived parameters can be used as prognostic indexes for pulmonary exacerbations in patients with CF.

Toward the Establishment of New Clinical Endpoints for Cystic Fibrosis: The Role of Lung Clearance Index and Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing.

As Cystic Fibrosis (CF) treatment advances, research evidence has highlighted the value and applicability of Lung Clearance Index and Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing as endpoints for clinical trials. In the context of these new endpoints for CF trials, we have explored the use of these two test outcomes for routine CF care. In this review we have presented the use of these methods in assessing disease severity, disease progression, and the efficacy of new interventions with considerations for future research.

Cardiorespiratory Fitness Predicted by Fibrinogen and Leptin Concentrations in Children with Obesity and Risk for Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study and a ROC Curve Analysis.

Obesity is defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. The ability to exercise is affected by adiposity, and this mechanism involves low-grade chronic inflammation and homeostatic stress produced mainly in adipocytes, which can result in abnormal adipokine secretion. To date, the gold standard for cardiorespiratory fitness assessment is considered to be the maximum oxygen uptake (VO).

Does Colonization Affect Exercise Capacity in CF?

Introduction: Cardio-Pulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) has been recognized as a valuable method in assessing disease burden and exercise capacity among CF patients.

Aim: To evaluate whether colonization status affects Exercise Capacity, LCI and High-Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) indices among patients with CF; to check if colonization can predict exercise intolerance.

Subjects: Seventy-eight (78) children and adults with CF (31 males) mean (range) age 17.