Helium-oxygen improves Clinical Asthma Scores in children with acute bronchiolitis.

Objective: To determine the efficacy of a helium-oxygen mixture in children admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit with acute respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis.

Design: Randomized, double-blind, controlled, crossover study and nonrandomized, prospective study.

Setting: A pediatric intensive care unit in a university hospital.

Obstructive sleep apnea in Apert's and Pfeiffer's syndromes: more than a craniofacial abnormality.

Nine acrocephalosyndactyly type I patients (Apert's syndrome) and three acrocephalosyndactyly type V patients (Pfeiffer's syndrome) were evaluated for the relative importance of upper and lower airway abnormalities in the generation of obstructive sleep apnea. All patients were found to have a combination of upper and lower abnormalities. The influence of lower pathology was greater in the infants, and the influence of upper airway, specifically pharyngeal, was greater in the adults.

Respiratory complications in children with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita.

Mild respiratory distress at birth is a common occurrence in infants with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SEDC) while severe respiratory insufficiency and death have been reported only rarely. We describe three infants with SEDC who experienced severe respiratory complications and required tracheostomies. Two of these infants have also needed long-term continuous positive airway pressure to maintain adequate ventilation.