BACKGROUND In young children with wheezing or bronchiolitis, especially with respiratory syncitial virus, blood eosinophilia and a high eosinophil cationic protein level in nasal secretions predicts subsequent wheezing in later childhood. However, whether eosinophil activation results from virus-induced inflammation or local eosinophilia per se precedes the onset of wheezing remains unknown. In...

BACKGROUND It is well known that respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) is associated with subsequent wheezing episodes, but the precise natural course of wheezing following RSV LRTI is not known. This study aimed to determine the continuous development of wheezing following RSV LRTI in children up to the age of 3 years. METHODS A prospective cohort study w...

W heezing in early childhood is common, occurring in approximately 50% of children before the age of 6 years. 1 Understanding the role of respiratory viruses in triggering acute wheezing in children has been compromised by the lack of comparison groups in previous studies. 2 The objective of this study was to investigate the association (using a control group) of two common viruses—influenza vi...

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence and the severity of wheezing in the first year of life for infants who live in Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS Cross sectional study with the administration of the Estudio Internacional de Sibilancias en Lactantes (EISL), which is a standardized and validated written questionnaire applied to parents and/or guardians of infants aged 12-24 months tr...

BACKGROUND The role of lower respiratory tract illnesses (LRIs) in the development of allergies is not well understood. The relation of wheezing and non-wheezing LRIs to serum IgE levels and atopy was studied in 888 children. METHODS Total serum IgE levels were measured at birth, nine months and six years of age; and interferon gamma production by blood mononuclear cells was measured at birth...

The effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy and childhood environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure on asthma and wheezing were investigated in 5,762 school-aged children residing in 12 Southern California communities. Responses to a self- administered questionnaire completed by parents of 4th, 7th, and 10th grade students were used to ascertain children with wheezing or physician-diagnos...