Psychosocial characteristics of asthma.

The objective of this study was to compare psychosocial characteristics of children with asthma and children with bronchial hyperreactivity with those of normal children. A population-based study of 2634 children (mean age, 10 years) was carried out. Pulmonary function tests of children were performed in children before and after cold air hyperventilation challenge to determine bronchial hyperreactivity.

Pertussis infection and allergic sensitization.

Background: The immunogenic activity of B. pertussis infection has been described in various laboratory, animal, and clinical studies. There is, however, no information on the impact of pertussis on allergies in the total population.

Bronchial hyperreactivity and history of wheezing in children.

Unlabelled: The objective of this analysis was to determine the relationship between wheezing at different age groups in children and the prevalence of bronchial hyperreactivity at the age of 10. A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Leipzig and the region around Halle in Germany. Of 3105 10-year-old children, 2658 questionnaires (85.

Skin test reactivity and number of siblings.

Objective: To investigate the relation between skin test reactivity in children and number of siblings.

Design: Cross sectional survey among schoolchildren aged 9-11 years. Skin prick tests in the children and self completion of written questionnaire by their parents.

Prevalence of asthma and atopy in two areas of West and East Germany.

The German reunification offers a unique opportunity to study the impact of environmental factors on the development of childhood respiratory and allergic disorders in ethnically similar populations. We investigated the prevalence of asthma, hay fever, atopy, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) in 9- to 11-year old children in West Germany (n = 5,030) and East Germany (n = 2,623). A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to the parents.

The production of saliva of patients with juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA).

About 12-16 p.c. of the patients with JCA had a reduced saliva production.

[Atopic skeletal retardation as a possible cause for short stature and thoracic deformity in children with asthma].

Deformities of the chest occur not only in asthmatics suffering from severe attacks, but also in those having a mild form of the disease. It also occurs in children with atopic dermatitis and in members of atopic families without concomitant bronchial asthma. This observation and the fact that asthmatic children tend towards hyposomia, has prompted auxological investigations of asthmatic children.

[Effect of bronchial asthma on growth and physical development].

Radiologic bone measurements for determination of the skeletal maturation were conducted in 243 children with bronchial asthma. The authors describe marked retardation of skeletal maturation as a general phenomenon of the atopic asthma. The grade of retardation is greater in atopics than in non-atopic asthmatics.

[Radiation dosage of premature infants caused by roentgen imaging of the thorax].

The X-ray pictures of the thorax from premature infants must be prepared by conditions of neonatal intensive care. For this X-ray pictures are available very often single-puls generators only. The radiation exposure is dependent prominently on the type of the generator.

[Significance of bronchial branching anomalies for recurrent and chronic nonspecific diseases of the respiratory organs in children].

About the question, whether anomalies in the branching of the bronchial tree are in causative connection with chronic nonspecific lung diseases of children, in the literature different opinions are to be read. Among about 2000 patients bronchographically examined we found 136 bronchial branching anomalies of different degrees. Seventy of them we examined about 5 years later.

[Experiences using acylureido-penicillins (azlocillin, mezlocillin) in pediatrics].

The acylureidopenicillins azlocillin and mezlocillin cover a broad spectrum of bacteria, including gramnegative and grampositive species as well as anaerobes. Azlocillin is especially active against P. aeruginosa.

[Air pollution and prevalence of nonspecific respiratory diseases in childhood].

The difficulties of defining chronic nonspecific lung diseases (CNSLD) and covering patients with these diseases are discussed. The comparison of the results of epidemiologic investigation from different investigators is full of problems. In extensive epidemiologic investigations a remarkable parallelism was found between the prevalence of CNSLD and the degree of air pollution.

[The value of the quantitative acetylcholine-test for the estimate of the bronchial reactivity (author's transl)].

By the quantitative acetylcholine-test, described in details, the threshold amount of acetylcholine is determined, which after inhalation is able to provoke bronchial obstruction just measureable. By double-determinations nearly identical results are obtained. Errors may result from the patient's non-cooperation, especially in young children and from unexact dosage of acetylcholine by the nebulizer.

[Respiratory diseases of children in an early age as a cause of absenteeism of the mothers from their working place and economical losses caused herewith (author's transl)].

Acute respiratory diseases of children are the most important factor in all institutions for children before school age. Pediatrics and preventive medicine have here hard to work against many medical social and economic problems. Till now, we did not know exactly, how great is the financial loss and reduction of produced goods, if working woman have as mothers to stay at home to take care for their ill children.

[Pharmakokinetic and clinical studies with azlocillin in paediatrics (author's transl)].

Azlocillin, an acylureido penicillin with bactericidal activity, is particularly effective against Pseudomonas, enterococci and Haemophilus influenzae. It is also very active against E. coli, various Proteus species and Bacteroides.

Amoxicillin in paediatrics, with special reference to its excretion into bronchial secretion.

Pharmacokinetic examinations with amoxicillin in neonates and prematures are reported. Good values of up to 5 mcg/ml after 24 hours were achieved with two doses of 50 mg/kg amoxicillin daily. Amoxicillin was also found in the meconium, although quantities varied greatly.

[On the excretion of azlocillin with bronchial secretion in children (author's transl)].

This pharmacokinetic study involved school children who were treated with 6-[(R)-2-(2-oxo-imidazolidine-1-carboxamido)-2-phenyl-acetamido]-penicillanic acid sodium walt (azlocillin, Securopen) at doses of 50 mg/kg bodyweight or 75 mg/kg body weight i.v. Kinetics of the first order were found for the concentrations measured at the same time, being proportionate to the administered dose, while there was no dose dependence for the relative distribution volume.

[On the epidemiology of recurrent and chronic bronchopulmonary diseases -- an examination of about 18,000 children. 6th report: summary of the investigation in the four districts (author's transl)].

In 3 districts of the county of Halle and in the cities of Halle and Halle-Neustadt about 18,000 children of different groups of age were examined wether they were suffering from recurrent or chronic nonspecific lung diseases (CNSLD). Among the 18,000 children we found 4.3% with lung diseases.