Cytokines in severe respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis.

Bronchiolitis caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is an important cause of severe lung disease in infants, and increasing evidence suggests that it is immunologically mediated. Experiments in mice suggest that this may be due to differential T-cell activation producing either type 1 or type 2 cytokines. We investigated this hypothesis in man by studying 24 infants ventilated with severe RSV bronchiolitis and by measuring messenger RNA (mRNA) for interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), by polymerase chain reaction, in nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPAs) and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids.

Respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis: disease severity, interleukin-8, and virus genotype.

In infants with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis, we investigated whether disease severity is associated with the genotype of the infecting virus, or with the infant's immunological response to the infection, as determined by measurement of interleukin-8 mRNA in the nasopharyngeal aspirate. This was a cross-sectional observational study, performed in the Accident and Emergency Department, wards, and Intensive Care Unit of a large pediatric hospital. Participants included 276 infants with respiratory syncytial virus infection.

Trends in passive smoking in cystic fibrosis, 1993-1998.

We set out to study trends in exposure to passive smoking in children with cystic fibrosis over a 5-year period. We also evaluated the effects of this exposure on lung function. Cross-sectional data were collected on 52 children in 1998 and compared with similar data collected on 56 children in 1993.

Intestinal inflammation in cystic fibrosis.

Background: There is controversy about whether the inflammatory response observed in the cystic fibrosis (CF) lung occurs secondary to bacterial infection or is caused by a dysregulation of the inflammatory response associated with the basic cellular defect of CF.

Aims: To study the inflammatory response in the gastrointestinal tract of children with CF; and to investigate whether there is increased inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract of CF children with fibrosing colonopathy.

Methods: Whole gut lavage was performed on 21 pancreatic insufficient children with CF, who were clinically well, five children with CF and fibrosing colonopathy, and 12 controls.

Randomized controlled trials in cystic fibrosis (1966-1997) categorized by time, design, and intervention.

The improved prognosis of cystic fibrosis (CF) over the last three decades has been associated with an increased use of a range of treatments, but it is important that the use of an individual treatment is based on evidence. Well-designed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are a robust method for evaluating the effectiveness of such treatments. We have developed a register of RCTs in CF and have studied when they were performed, their design, and what interventions were investigated.