Preparing the paediatric patient for their operating room experience can be a complex process because of the many individuals involved.4 36 38 Preparation begins before patients have seen an anaesthetist because they will learn of their impending surgery from the surgeon. Surgical colleagues and their support staff can help to ease parents’ anxieties by assuring them that their child will recei...

Assessment of immune responses in healthy adults following dietary or lifestyle interventions is challenging due to significant inter-individual variability. Thus, gaining a better understanding of host factors that contribute to the heterogeneity in immunity is necessary. To address this question, healthy adults [n = 36, 18-40 years old, body mass index (BMI) 20-35 kg/m(2)] were recruited. Die...

BACKGROUND Antibiotic overuse is driving the emergence of antibiotic resistance worldwide. Good data on prescribing behaviours of healthcare providers are needed to support antimicrobial stewardship initiatives. This study examined the differences in antibiotic prescribing rates of public and private primary care clinics in Malaysia. METHODS We used data from the National Medical Care Survey ...

BACKGROUND Upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) are common in children. The cause of URTIs is usually viral, but parents' attitudes often contribute to inappropriate prescription of antibiotics, promoting antibiotic resistance. The objective of this study was to document and analyse parental beliefs on antibiotic use for children with URTIs in Greece, a country with high levels of antibio...

BACKGROUND Multiple studies have analyzed perioperative factors related to adverse events (AEs) in children who require gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures (GEP) in settings where deep sedation is the preferred anesthetic technique over general anesthesia (GA) but not for the opposite case. METHODS We reviewed our anesthesia institutional database, seeking children less than 12 years who u...

Common infectious diseases (CID) of the airways and the gastrointestinal tract are still a considerable cause of morbidity and mortality in elderly. The present study examined the beneficial effect of a dairy product containing the probiotic strain Lactobacillus casei DN-114 001 (fermented product) on the resistance of free-living elderly to CID. The study was multicentric, double blind and con...

The aim of the study was to investigate the unknown effect of air pollutants on the occurrence or deterioration of respiratory diseases in the area with a humid continental climate. This retrospective study included 5868 patients with respiratory symptomatology (upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), pneumonia, acute bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and asthma) admit...

To the Editor: Human enteroviruses (EVs) are small, nonenveloped RNA viruses belonging to the family Picornaviridae. Approximately 100 EV genotypes have been identified. Recently, EV68 epidemics in respiratory tract infections (RTIs) have been reported worldwide (1,2). Moreover, rarely detected EVs (e.g., EV-C104 and EV-C109) have been increasingly identified in patients with RTIs (3–7), indica...

BACKGROUND The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends surveillance of antibiotic use as part of the strategy to fight against antimicrobial resistance. However, there is little information about the antibiotic consumption in developing countries, especially in rural areas. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to describe the antimicrobial consumption in a rural hospital in India. M...

BACKGROUND Upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) has a significant healthcare burden worldwide. Considerable resources are consumed through health care consultations and prescribed treatment, despite evidence for little or no effect on recovery. Patterns of consultations and care including use of symptomatic medications and antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections are poorly descri...