[EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ACTIVATION FOR ANAPHYLAXIS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY FROM ISRAEL].

Introduction: During the first waves of COVID-19 in 2020, the public was confined to their homes due to closure instructions that applied to gatherings, celebrations, and restaurants, as well as voluntary self-isolation for fear of contagion. This seclusion affected, among other things, pre-hospital emergency medical services (EMS), which experienced a general decrease in their activity for trauma cases and routine medical problems. Other immediate life-saving events are cases of anaphylaxis.

Pearls and pitfalls of implementing LEAP strategy for peanut: A case report.

Early introduction of peanut in infants at high risk has been widely adopted and implemented in pediatric outpatient clinics since 2017. It is often overlooked that almost 2% of infants went on to develop peanut allergy despite regular consumption in a previous study. Here we described a case of anaphylaxis to peanut in a 6-month-old infant after a negative skin-prick test result, supervised introduction in the clinic, and successful home consumption, which, to our knowledge, has only previously been described once in the literature.

Effect of local anesthetics on viability and differentiation of various adult stem/progenitor cells.

Background: Local anesthetics (LAs) are widely used to control pain during various clinical treatments. One of the side effects of LAs, cytotoxicity, has been investigated in various cells including stem/progenitor cells. However, our understanding of the effects of LAs on the differentiation capacity of stem/progenitor cells still remains limited.

Methylation of cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1 genes associates with lung function in asthmatics exposed to traffic-related air pollution.

Air pollution is associated with early declines in lung function and increased levels of asthma-related cysteinyl leukotrienes (CysLT) but a biological pathway linking this rapid response has not been delineated. In this randomized controlled diesel exhaust (DE) challenge study of 16 adult asthmatics, increased exposure-attributable urinary leukotriene E4 (uLTE4, a biomarker of cysteinyl leukotriene production) was correlated (p = 0.04) with declines in forced expiratory volume in 1-second (FEV) within 6 hours of exposure.

Health effects of concurrent ambient and tobacco smoke-derived particle exposures at low concentrations in children with asthma.

Exposure to particulate matter less than 2.5 microns from either ambient pollution (AMB-PM) or secondhand smoke (SHS-PM) have been associated with asthma worsening, but there is little information on effects and relative potency with concurrent exposures. We studied health effects of concurrent exposures to AMB-PM and SHS-PM over a 6-year period in schoolchildren with asthma.

Urinary Leukotriene E as a Biomarker of Exposure, Susceptibility, and Risk in Asthma: An Update.

Measurement of urinary leukotriene E (uLTE) is a sensitive and noninvasive method of assaying total body cysteinyl leukotriene (CysLT) production and changes in CysLT production. Recent studies have reported on novel LTE4 receptor interactions and genetic polymorphisms causing CysLT variability. The applications of uLTE as a biomarker continue to expand, including evaluation of environmental exposures, asthma severity risk, aspirin sensitivity, predicting atopy in preschool age children, obstructive sleep apnea, and predicting susceptibility to leukotriene receptor antagonists.

Within-microenvironment exposure to particulate matter and health effects in children with asthma: a pilot study utilizing real-time personal monitoring with GPS interface.

Background: Most particulate matter (PM) and health studies in children with asthma use exposures averaged over the course of a day and do not take into account spatial/temporal variability that presumably occurs as children move from home, into transit and then school microenvironments. The objectives of this work were to identify increases in morning PM exposure occurring within home, transit and school microenvironments and determine their associations with asthma-related inflammation and rescue medication use.

Methods: In 2007-2008, thirty Denver-area schoolchildren with asthma performed personal PM exposure monitoring using a real-time sensor integrated with a geographic information system (GIS) to apportion exposures to home, transit and school microenvironments.

Regression calibration with instrumental variables for longitudinal models with interaction terms, and application to air pollution studies.

In this paper, we derive forms of estimators and associated variances for regression calibration with instrumental variables in longitudinal models that include interaction terms between two unobservable predictors and interactions between these predictors and covariates not measured with error; the inclusion of the latter interactions generalize results we previously reported. The methods are applied to air pollution and health data collected on children with asthma. The new methods allow for the examination of how the relationship between health outcome leukotriene E4 (LTE, a biomarker of inflammation) and two unobservable pollutant exposures and their interaction are modified by the presence or absence of upper respiratory infections.

Predictors of asthma control and lung function responsiveness to step 3 therapy in children with uncontrolled asthma.

Background: Predictors of improvement in asthma control and lung function to step 3 therapy in children with persistent asthma have not been identified despite reported heterogeneity in responsiveness.

Objective: We sought to evaluate potential predictors of asthma control and lung function responsiveness to step 3 therapy.

Methods: A post hoc analysis from the Best Add-On Giving Effective Response (BADGER) study tested the association between baseline biological, asthma control, pulmonary function, and demographic markers and responsiveness to step-up to a higher dose of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS step-up therapy) or addition of leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA step-up therapy) or long-acting β₂-agonist (LABA step-up therapy).

Indoor pollutant exposures modify the effect of airborne endotoxin on asthma in urban children.

Rationale: The effect of endotoxin on asthma morbidity in urban populations is unclear.

Objectives: To determine if indoor pollutant exposure modifies the relationships between indoor airborne endotoxin and asthma health and morbidity.

Methods: One hundred forty-six children and adolescents with persistent asthma underwent repeated clinical assessments at 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.

Regression calibration for models with two predictor variables measured with error and their interaction, using instrumental variables and longitudinal data.

Regression calibration provides a way to obtain unbiased estimators of fixed effects in regression models when one or more predictors are measured with error. Recent development of measurement error methods has focused on models that include interaction terms between measured-with-error predictors, and separately, methods for estimation in models that account for correlated data. In this work, we derive explicit and novel forms of regression calibration estimators and associated asymptotic variances for longitudinal models that include interaction terms, when data from instrumental and unbiased surrogate variables are available but not the actual predictors of interest.

Urinary leukotriene E4 as a biomarker of exposure, susceptibility and risk in asthma.

Measurement of urinary leukotriene E(4) (uLTE(4)) is a sensitive and noninvasive method of assaying total body cysteinyl leukotriene production and changes in cysteinyl leukotriene production. Recent studies have reported on novel uLTE(4) receptor interactions, and new applications for uLTE(4), as a biomarker of environmental exposure to tobacco smoke and ambient air pollution, a predictor of risk for asthma exacerbations related to tobacco smoke, and a marker of susceptibility to leukotriene receptor antagonists.