Objective
To explore the inducing factors, the serum total immunoglobulin E (IgE) and specific IgE of bronchial asthma in Mianyang children, for better control of childhood asthma.
Methods
A total of 1 288 cases of asthma who were hospitalized in pediatric respiratory ward or asthma clinic from March 2013 to February 2016 were enrolled in the study. All cases complied with the diagnostic criteria for acute episode of childhood bronchial asthma revised in 2008 by the National Children’s Asthma Cooperative Group. The causes of asthma attack were asked by doctors, and the patient’s serum total IgE and specific IgE was tested.
Results
Respiratory tract infections were the most common cause (1 057 cases, 82.1%), which was followed by weather changes and exposure to cold air (694 cases, 53.9%), and then food (304, 23.6%). The risk of asthma induced by respiratory infections was highest in <2-year old group (358 cases, 97.5%), and lowest in 10-14-year old group (42 cases, 33.3%), with a decreasing trend with age (χ2trend=239.865, P<0.001). Food was also an important inducing factor, and seafood was the most frequent (121 cases, 39.8%). Total serum IgE was positive in 868 cases (67.4%). The positive rate in <2-year old group (52.6%) was the lowest, and the positive rate in 10-14-year old group (89.7%) was the highest, with an increasing trend with age (χ2trend=88.055, P<0.001). Serum specific IgE was positive in 733 cases (56.9%). The positive rate in <2-year old group (37.1%) was the lowest, and the positive rate in 10-14-year old group (92.6%) was the highest, with an increasing trend with age (χ2trend=150.361, P<0.001). The progressive rate of dust mites in inhalation and dietary allergens was highest (668 cases, 51.8%), which was followed by house dust (431 cases, 33.4%).
Conclusions
The most common inducing factor for bronchial asthma in Mianyang children is respiratory tract infection, followed by the weather changes and cold air exposure, and then food. Detection of serum total IgE and specific IgE is more valuable in elderly children with bronchial asthma.
ObjectiveTo understand the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD) and perceived stress in suspected coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients quarantined in hospital.MethodsA cross-sectional study of 93 suspected COVID-19 patients in one of grade-A tertiary hospital in Southwest China was carried out to evaluate the incidence of perceived stress and post-traumatic stress symptoms among these patients using the standardized Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10) and PTSD Checklist-5 (PCL-5), respectively. Pearson correlation was used to analyze the correlation between PCL-5 and PSS-10 scores.ResultsTotal PSS-10 and PCL-5 scores were 16.7±5.2 and 17.0±11.6 in 93 suspected COVID-19 patients, respectively. Positive correlations between PSS-10 and PCL-5 scores were detected (Pearson’s r=0.722, P=0.000).ConclusionsThe occurrence and development of PSTD of suspected COVID-19 patients have the relationship with the early perceived pressure. It suggests that medical staff should identify and intervene the perceived pressure level of patients who are under quarantine as suspected COVID-19 early and effectively, so as to reduce the occurrence of PTSD.
Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and pathogen distribution of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) combined with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), based on bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) test. Methods In this cross-sectional study, CAP patients with BALF mNGS test were screened from April 2023 to April 2024. The patients were divided into a single CAP group (CAP group) and a CAP combine with T2DM group (CAP+T2DM group). The data of demographics, underlying diseases, complications, and laboratory tests including blood routine, inflammatory parameters, liver and renal functions, random blood glucose (RGB), hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c), and BALF mNGS tests were collected and compared between the two groups. Results Ultimately, 86 patients were included, with 45 in the CAP group and 41 in the CAP+T2DM group. Compared with the CAP group, the CAP+T2DM group had higher platelet count [(272.44±128.57)×109/L vs. (215.00±100.06)×109/L], erythrocyte sedimentation rate [(75.63±35.19) vs. (59.69±34.47) mm/h], RGB [10.8 (9.1, 13.5) vs. 6.5 (5.8, 7.8) mmol/L], HbA1c [8.2% (7.3%, 8.5%) vs. 5.7% (5.5%, 6.1%)], and fungi infection rate (65.9% vs. 40.0%), and the differences were statistically significant between the two groups (P<0.05). Conclusion CAP patients with T2DM have increased levels of platelet and erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and are at higher risk for fungi infection, which potentially leads to worse outcome.
