• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.211-216
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• 2014

Asthma comprises a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by airway inflammation, airway obstruction, and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). Airway inflammation, which induces AHR and recurrence of asthma, is the main pathophysiology of asthma. The fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) level is a noninvasive, reproducible measurement of eosinophilic airway inflammation that is easy to perform in young children. As airway inflammation precedes asthma attacks and airway obstruction, elevated FeNO levels may be useful as predictive markers for risk of recurrence of asthma. This review discusses FeNO measurements among early-childhood wheezing phenotypes that have been identified in large-scale longitudinal studies. These wheezing phenotypes are classified into three to six categories based on the onset and persistence of wheezing from birth to later childhood. Each phenotype has characteristic findings for atopic sensitization, lung function, AHR, or FeNO. For example, in one birth cohort study, children with asthma and persistent wheezing at 7 years had higher FeNO levels at 4 years compared to children without wheezing, which suggested that FeNO could be a predictive marker for later development of asthma. Preschool-aged children with recurrent wheezing and stringent asthma predictive indices also had higher FeNO levels in the first 4 years of life compared to children with wheezing and loose indices or children with no wheeze, suggesting that FeNO measurements may provide an additional parameter for predicting persistent wheezing in preschool children. Additional large-scale longitudinal studies are required to establish cutoff levels for FeNO as a risk factor for persistent asthma.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.303-307
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• 1982

Two patients with funnel chest deformity were corrected in the department of Thoracic Surgery, N.M.C. The first case was a 12 months old male suffering from recurrent upper respiratory tract infection and symmetrical funnel chest deformity, of which hollow cavity was measured 40 ml of water. He was corrected by method of sternal turnover. The result was satisfactory. The second case was a 16 years old male suffering from exertional dyspnea, recurrent upper respiratory tract infection, wheezing sound [esp., at night], and asymmetrical funnel chest deformity, of which hollow cavity was measured 80 ml of water. He was corrected by modified Ravitch method. Until postoperative 4 months, result was satisfactory. Thereafter, respiratory wheezing, exertional dyspnea and chest wall deformity were returned to pre-operative status.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.660-664
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• 2008

The term tracheal bronchus refers to an abnormal bronchus that comes directly off of the lateral wall of the trachea (above the carina) and supplies ventilation to the upper lobe. Tracheal bronchi occur almost exclusively on the right trachea and are associated with other congenital anomalies. In addition, tracheai bronchus may be related to other inflammatory conditions with persistent wheezing, such as recurrent pneumonia, chronic bronchitis and bronchiectasis, which is a result of the relatively poor local drainage of the involved bronchi. An infant with recurrent wheezing is likely to be a challenge for a clinician in the evaluation of the etiology of airway obstruction and in the differential diagnosis of wheezy breathing. The authors report a case of an 8-month-old female infant with a ventricular septal defect, who presented with stridor and recurrent respiratory infection and finally was finally diagnosed with a tracheal bronchus using computed tomography and a bronchoscopy. Therefore, tracheal bronchus should be included in the differential diagnosis of any child who presents with chronic or recurrent respiratory tract symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, stridor and recurrent respiratory infection, particularly in children with other congenital deformities.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.298-304
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• 2006

Purpose : We compared the asthma predictive index(API) and the modified asthma predictive index (mAPI) of the Tuscon Children's Respiratory Study Group in Korean children with recurrent wheezing. We investigated the atopic profiles and presence of allergen sensitization of each risk group, and ascertained the significant clinical risk factors. Methods : Two hundred and sixty two children, who visited for recurrent wheezing from 1998 to 2005, were enrolled and divided into groups by API and mAPI. We investigated the history of the patients and their families, atopic profiles, and sensitization to aeroallergen and food allergens. Twenty nine children were followed up to 6 years of age and we evaluated the sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive value of both indices. Results : The high risk group of API were of older age, were more likely to be sensitized to aeroallergen(P=0.001) and food allergen(P=0.034) and had higher levels of total eosinophil count, eosinophil percent, serum ECP, total IgE, and D.p-, D.f-specific IgE. High risk group of mAPI showed higher levels of atopic markers such as egg-, milk-, D.p- and D.f-specific IgE. Even though API did not include allergen sensitization, the high risk group was more significantly sensitized to common allergens than the low risk group. Twenty nine children were followed up until 6 years of age; therefore 15 children were diagnosed as asthma, clinically. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of mAPI were higher than API. Conclusion : Both high risk groups of API and mAPI had higher levels of atopic markers and were more sensitized to common allergens. These findings suggest that sensitization to aeroallergens and food allergens are more objective markers as asthma predictive indices. In addition, mAPI is a more reliable index in predicting asthma in Korean children with recurrent wheezing than is API. But only 29 patients were followed until the age of 6, so we need to include more children with long term follow up for future study.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.45 no.9
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• pp.1160-1164
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• 2002

We report a case of Alport syndrome associated with esophageal leiomyomatosis, presenting as recurrent pneumonia. A 5-year old girl who had a history of cataract visited the out patient clinic with a complaint of recurrent wheezing and respiratory difficulty which had started five months previously. Chest magnetic resonance image(MRI) and esophagography, checked on the suspicion of achalasia, revealed esophageal leiomyomatosis and renal biopsy revealed Alport syndrome. In the pediatric population, this tumor is a rare cause of dysphagia and is often misdiagnosed as an esophageal motility disorder. Although a number of Alport syndrome associated with leiomyomatosis were reported in the literature, this is a second case report presented with recurrent pneumonia in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Bronchoesophagology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.64-67
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• 2009

Paratracheal air cysts are rare lesions and detected incidentally during CT scan or autopsy. Histopathologic diagnoses of paratracheal air cysts include trachocele, tracheal diverticulum and lymphoepithelial cyst. The cysts are lined by ciliated columnar epithelium and have communication with trachea. Previous reports suggested an association with obstructive lung disease because of increased expiratory pressures in these patients. Most of these cysts are asymptomatic but rarely cause productive cough, wheezing, recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis and difficult intubation. We report a case of paratracheal air cyst causing dyspnea with a review of literature.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.58-63
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• 2021

Asthma is a chronic obstructive lung disease characterized by recurrent episodes of bronchoconstriction and wheezing. Conventional asthma treatment involves the suppression of airway inflammation or improving airway flow. Rosmarinus officialis, also known as rosemary, is a Mediterranean plant that is used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Carnosol, a diterpenoid found in rosemary extracts, has been known to exhibit anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and anti-oxidant effects. The effect of carnosol on allergic responses has not been tested yet. The effect of carnosol on a murine allergic asthma model were investigated. Carnosol inhibited the degranulation of RBL-2H3 mast cells. Carnosol treatment inhibited the increase in the number of eosinophils in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BALF) of mice treated with ovalbumin. Carnosol treatment also inhibited inflammatory responses and mucin production in histologic studies. Carnosol treatment inhibited the increases of IL-4 and IL-13 cytokines expression in both BALF and the lungs. These results suggest that carnosol may have a potential for allergic asthma therapy.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.45.1-45.15
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• 2022

Asthma is a chronic airway inflammatory disease characterized by reversible airway obstruction and airway hyperreactivity to various environmental stimuli, leading to recurrent cough, dyspnea, and wheezing episodes. Regarding inflammatory mechanisms, type 2/eosinophilic inflammation along with activated mast cells is the major one; however, diverse mechanisms, including structural cells-derived and non-type 2/neutrophilic inflammations are involved, presenting heterogenous phenotypes. Although most asthmatic patients could be properly controlled by the guided treatment, patients with severe asthma (SA; classified as a treatment-refractory group) suffer from uncontrolled symptoms with frequent asthma exacerbations even on regular anti-inflammatory medications, raising needs for additional controllers, including biologics that target specific molecules found in asthmatic airway, and achieving the precision medicine for asthma. This review summarizes the immunologic basis of airway inflammatory mechanisms and current biologics for SA in order to address unmet needs for future targets.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.261-266
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• 2002

Vascular ring, originating from abnormal regression of the aortic arch during fetal life, can cause prolonged and recurrent respiratory symptoms and dysphagia when the diagnosis is delayed. We report a 4 month old girl with vascular ring, who had been treated for persistent respiratory symptoms including stridor, wheezing, and dyspnea soon after birth. Initially her respiratory symptoms were thought to be due to bronchiolitis, for which respiratory syncytial virus was confirmed by immunofluorescent staining. Her clinical course was again complicated with tracheitis and pneumonia due to Haemophilus influenzae type b. The possibility of anatomical anomaly was investigated when it was felt to be difficult to insert a suction catheter deep down through a endotracheal tube which was placed for adequate ventilatory management. A three-dimensional chest CT revealed a vascular ring consisting of a double aortic arch. For 5 months following surgery, her respiratory symptoms have slowly been improving. She developed another episode of pneumonia which was milder than the one which occurred before the surgery.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.176-179
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• 1992

Bronchial webs are rare lesions which often go unrecognized. A 36-year-old female was admitted to our hospital for recurrent cough and dyspnea. A diagnosis of bronchial asthma was made and she was treated with conventional therapy. She did not respond to drug therapy. On the physical examination, there was localized wheezing on the left lung field. By the bronchogram, we found a membrane-like structure in the left main bronchus. A bronchoplasty was performed and now the patient leads her normal life without any medications for asthma.