A multi-disciplinary approach to chronic cough in children.

Objectives: (1) To highlight the important causes of chronic and recurrent cough in children. (2) To discuss multidisciplinary approach to management of chronic/recurrent pediatric cough.

Methods: Review of scholarly articles, guidelines, expert panels via PubMed and Google Scholar.

Evaluation of Vancomycin Dosing in Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis Patients.

Objectives: The presence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients' sputa is associated with a decline in pulmonary function and increased mortality. Vancomycin is the preferred treatment for MRSA pneumonia in children. No published studies have evaluated the vancomycin dose needed to achieve goal vancomycin trough concentrations (VTCs; 15-20 mg/L) in pediatric patients with CF.

Characterization of a recurrent 3.8kb deletion involving exons 17a and 17b within the CFTR gene.

Background: Large deletions within CFTR have been estimated to constitute 1-2% pathogenic alleles, but the occurrence could be much higher in classical cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with one mutation detectable by the routine screening/sequencing work-up. Currently, evaluation of major CFTR rearrangements is not included in the mutation analysis for the reproductive partner of a CF patient/carrier.

Methods: Exon sequencing and Multiplex Ligation-dependent Amplification (MLPA) analyses were used to make a molecular diagnosis of two unrelated CF patients.

Lung transplantation for childhood diffuse lung disease.

Background: Pediatric diffuse lung diseases comprise a heterogeneous group of rare lung disorders which may lead to end stage lung disease and referral for lung transplantation. Previous studies are limited by small numbers of patients with specific forms of diffuse lung disease. Children with all forms of diffuse lung disease who underwent lung transplantation at two pediatric centers were evaluated in terms of several pre- and post-transplant factors and compared to children with other end stage lung disorders.

Bronchiolitis obliterans in children.

Purpose Of Review: In this review, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of the etiology, pathology and pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of bronchiolitis obliterans in the nontransplant, pediatric population.

Recent Findings: The diagnosis of bronchiolitis obliterans in children can be made with confidence based on clinical presentation, particularly with a history of adenovirus bronchiolitis or pneumonia, fixed obstructive lung disease on pulmonary function testing, and characteristic changes of mosaic perfusion, vascular attenuation, and central bronchiectasis on chest high-resolution computed tomography, thus avoiding the need for lung biopsy in most patients. Patients with postinfectious bronchiolitis obliterans generally have chronic, nonprogressive disease; in contrast, patients with bronchiolitis obliterans from Stevens-Johnson syndrome often have progressive disease that may require lung transplantation.