Infective respiratory syncytial virus is present in human cord blood samples and most prevalent during winter months.

Background: Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) remains the most common cause of severe lower respiratory tract disease amongst infants, and continues to cause annual epidemics of respiratory disease every winter worldwide. Demonstrating placental transmission of viable RSV in human samples is a major paradigm shift in respiratory routes considered likely for RSV transmission.

Methods: Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) was used to identify RSV present in cord blood mononucleocytes (CBM).

A systematic review of fractional exhaled nitric oxide in the routine management of childhood asthma.

Background: Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is a non-invasive biomarker of eosinophilic inflammation which may be used to guide the management of asthma in childhood.

Objectives: To synthesise the available evidence on the efficacy of FeNO-guided management of childhood asthma.

Methods: Databases including MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library were searched, and randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing FeNO-guided management with any other monitoring strategy were included.

Thoracic Kyphosis is Now Uncommon Amongst Children and Adolescents with Cystic Fibrosis.

Historically, thoracic kyphosis has been reported to be common amongst patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). The mechanisms leading to the development of this abnormality of the chest wall are not fully understood. In order to explore the prevalence of the condition amongst children with CF in the early twenty-first century and to explore factors that might be contributing to its development, a retrospective cross sectional study was undertaken in a regional CF unit.