Comparison of the Lung Clearance Index in Preschool Children With Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia and Cystic Fibrosis.

Background: Previous studies showed that the lung clearance index (LCI) determined by multiple-breath washout (MBW) is sensitive to detecting early lung disease in preschool children with cystic fibrosis (CF). In preschool children with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), data on the onset and severity of lung disease and on the sensitivity of the LCI as a noninvasive quantitative outcome measure remain limited.

Research And Study Question: Is MBW feasible and sensitive to detect ventilation inhomogeneity in preschool children with PCD?

Study Design And Methods: This was a prospective, cross-sectional, multicenter study and included preschoolers with PCD, preschoolers with CF, and healthy control (HC) participants.

Tracheobronchial anomalies and stenoses: detection with low-dose multidetector CT with virtual tracheobronchoscopy--comparison with flexible tracheobronchoscopy.

Purpose: To prospectively assess the sensitivity and specificity of low-dose multidetector computed tomography (CT) with virtual tracheobronchoscopy (VT) for evaluation of suspected airway stenoses and/or abnormalities by using flexible tracheobronchoscopy (FT) as the reference standard.

Materials And Methods: The study was approved by the local ethics committee; parental consent was obtained. Forty-five patients with clinically and/or radiographically suspected tracheobronchial stenosis and/or anomaly underwent FT and contrast material-enhanced single-phase multidetector CT with VT.

Evaluation of clinical, radiologic, and laboratory prebronchoscopy findings in children with suspected foreign body aspiration.

Background: Foreign body aspiration (FBA) in infants and young children is a common and potentially life-threatening event. Although studies have extensively described the signs and symptoms of suspected FBA (sFBA), only few systematically compared their value for predicting bronchoscopy results.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to describe the clinical and radiologic signs and symptoms of sFBA and to identify predictors of bronchoscopically proven FBA (pFBA).

Pulmonary haemosiderosis in infants and children.

Pulmonary haemosiderosis (PH) results from recurrent bleeding into alveolar spaces and interstitial lung tissue. If untreated, fibrosis and restrictive lung disease will develop and may lead to death. A distinction can be made between primary and secondary pulmonary haemosiderosis as a manifestation of auto-immune small vessel vasculitides, coagulation disorders or diseases with increased venous pressure.

Evaluation of chronic infectious interstitial pulmonary disease in children by low-dose CT-guided transthoracic lung biopsy.

Background: Children with chronic infectious interstitial lung disease often have to undergo open lung biopsy to establish a final diagnosis. Open lung biopsy is an invasive procedure with major potential complications. Transthoracic lung biopsy (TLB) guided by computed tomography (CT) is a less-invasive well-established procedure in adults.