Relation between pulse oximetry and clinical score in children with acute wheezing less than 24 months of age

Field testing two existing, standardized respiratory severity scores (LIBSS and ReSViNET) in infants presenting with acute respiratory illness to tertiary hospitals in Rwanda - a validation and inter-rater reliability study

INTRODUCTION

There is a substantial burden of respiratory disease in infants in the sub-Saharan Africa region. Many health care providers (HCPs) that initially receive infants with respiratory distress may not be adequately skilled to differentiate between mild, moderate and severe respiratory symptoms, which may contribute to poor management and outcome. Therefore, respiratory severity scores have the potential to contributing to address this gap.

OBJECTIVES

to field-test the use of two existing standardized bronchiolitis severity scores (LIBSS and ReSViNET) in a population of Rwandan infants (1-12 months) presenting with respiratory illnesses to urban, tertiary, pediatric hospitals and to assess the severity of respiratory distress in these infants and the treatments used.

METHODS

A cross-sectional, validation study, was conducted in four tertiary hospitals in Rwanda. Infants presenting with difficulty in breathing were included. The LIBSS and ReSViNET scores were independently employed by nurses and residents to assess the severity of disease in each infant.

RESULTS

100 infants were recruited with a mean age of seven months. Infants presented with pneumonia (n = 51), bronchiolitis (n = 36) and other infectious respiratory illnesses (n = 13). Thirty-three infants had severe disease and survival was 94% using nurse applied LIBSS. Regarding inter-rater reliability, the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) for LIBSS and ReSViNET between nurses and residents was 0.985 (95% CI: 0.98-0.99) and 0.980 (0.97-0.99). The convergent validity (Pearson's correlation) between LIBSS and ReSViNET for nurses and residents was R = 0.836 (p<0.001) and R = 0.815 (p<0.001). The area under the Receiver Operator Curve (aROC) for admission to PICU or HDU was 0.956 (CI: 0.92-0.99, p<0.001) and 0.880 (CI: 0.80-0.96, p<0.001) for nurse completed LIBSS and ReSViNET respectively.

CONCLUSION

LIBSS and ReSViNET were designed for infants with bronchiolitis in resource-rich settings. Both LIBSS and ReSViNET demonstrated good reliability and validity results, in this cohort of patients presenting to tertiary level hospitals. This early data demonstrate that these two scores have the potential to be used in conjunction with clinical reasoning to identify infants at increased risk of clinical deterioration and allow timely admission, treatment escalation and therefore support resource allocation in Rwanda.

Clinical respiratory scales: which one should we use?

INTRODUCTION

There are countless clinical respiratory scales for acute dyspnoea. Most healthcare professionals choose one based on previous personal experience or following local practice, unaware of the implications of their choice. The lack of critical comparisons between those different tools has been a widespread problem that only recently has begun to be addressed via score validation studies. Here we try to assess and compare the quality criteria of measurement properties of acute dyspnoea scores. Areas covered: A literature review was conducted by searching the PubMed database. Forty-five documents were deemed eligible as they reported the use or building of clinical scales, using at least two parameters, and applied these to an acute episode of respiratory dyspnoea. Our primary focus was the description of the validity, reliability and utility of 41 suitable scoring instruments. Differences in sample selection, study design, rater profiles and potential methodological shortcomings were also addressed. Expert commentary: All acute dyspnoea scores lack complete validation. In particular, the areas of measurement error and interpretability have not been addressed correctly by any of the tools reviewed. Frequent modification of pre-existing scores (in items composition and/or name), differences in study design and discrepancies in reviewed sources also hinder the search for an adequate tool.

A systematic review of the psychometric properties of bronchiolitis assessment tools

AIM

The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of tools developed for the purpose of assessing infants with bronchiolitis.

BACKGROUND

Bronchiolitis is the leading cause of hospitalization in infants under the age of 1 year. Several bronchiolitis assessment tools have been developed primarily for use in randomized control trials of medical treatments for infants with bronchiolitis, however, the reliability and validity of many of these tools is not well reported.

DESIGN

Systematic review.

DATA SOURCES

CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE and PubMed electronic databases were searched between January 1960-December 2015 using the key words 'bronchiolitis' and 'assessment' or 'screen' or 'tool' or 'scale' or 'score'.

REVIEW METHODS

A systematic review of the psychometric properties of bronchiolitis assessment tools was undertaken using the COSMIN checklist.

RESULTS

Fourteen studies meeting the inclusion criteria were reviewed and the methodological quality of the studies and reported psychometric properties of 11 instruments were assessed. Overall, the reliability and validity of bronchiolitis assessment tools was poorly established. Although several studies reported that their tools had good inter-rater reliability, the methodological quality of these studies was generally poor. Only one study underwent psychometric testing that was assessed as being of excellent quality. The Respiratory Distress Assessment Index was deemed to have undergone the most rigorous psychometric testing but had poor to moderate construct validity and considerable test-retest error.

CONCLUSION

Current bronchiolitis assessment tools lack clearly established reliability and validity and may not be sensitive to clinically meaningful outcomes for patients.

Chest physiotherapy is not clinically indicated for infants receiving outpatient care for acute wheezing episodes

AIM

To evaluate the effectiveness of chest physiotherapy (CPT), which provides slow and long expiratory flow and assisted cough techniques, in infants receiving outpatient care for acute wheezing episodes.

METHODS

Forty-eight infants with moderate acute wheezing episodes were randomised to receive either salbutamol MDI with CPT (n = 25) or without CPT (n = 23). The clinical score and SpO2 levels were recorded, before and after treatment, in a blinded design. The primary outcome was discharge after the first hour of treatment: clinical score ≤5/12 and SpO2 ≥ 93%. Secondary outcomes were the number of admissions to hospital after the second hour, use of oral corticosteroid bursts and admissions to hospital on day seven.

RESULTS

There were no differences between children with and without CPT in discharge rate (92% vs. 87%), clinical score (median [IQR]: 2.8 [2.2-3.3] vs. 3.4 [2.8-4.1]) and SpO2 = (96.4 [95.7-97.1] vs. 96.0 [94.9-96.5]) after the first hour of treatment or in the number of hospital admissions after the second hour. No differences were observed at days seven and 28 following treatment.

CONCLUSION

There was no evidence of clinical benefits from these specific CPT techniques for infants receiving outpatient care for acute wheezing episodes.

Systematic review: insufficient validation of clinical scores for the assessment of acute dyspnoea in wheezing children

BACKGROUND

A reliable, valid, and easy-to-use assessment of the degree of wheeze-associated dyspnoea is important to provide individualised treatment for children with acute asthma, wheeze or bronchiolitis.

OBJECTIVE

To assess validity, reliability, and utility of all available paediatric dyspnoea scores.

METHODS

Systematic review. We searched Pubmed, Cochrane library, National Guideline Clearinghouse, Embase and Cinahl for eligible studies. We included studies describing the development or use of a score, assessing two or more clinical symptoms and signs, for the assessment of severity of dyspnoea in an acute episode of acute asthma, wheeze or bronchiolitis in children aged 0-18 years. We assessed validity, reliability and utility of the retrieved dyspnoea scores using 15 quality criteria.

RESULTS

We selected 60 articles describing 36 dyspnoea scores. Fourteen scores were judged unsuitable for clinical use, because of insufficient face validity, use of items unsuitable for children, difficult scoring system or because complex auscultative skills are needed, leaving 22 possibly useful scores. The median number of quality criteria that could be assessed was 7 (range 6-11). The median number of positively rated quality criteria was 3 (range 1-5). Although most scores were easy to use, important deficits were noted in all scores across the three methodological quality domains, in particular relating to reliability and responsiveness.

CONCLUSION

None of the many dyspnoea scores has been sufficiently validated to allow for clinically meaningful use in children with acute dyspnoea or wheeze. Proper validation of existing scores is warranted to allow paediatric professionals to make a well balanced decision on the use of the dyspnoea score most suitable for their specific purpose.

Pulse oximetry in pediatric practice

The introduction of pulse oximetry in clinical practice has allowed for simple, noninvasive, and reasonably accurate estimation of arterial oxygen saturation. Pulse oximetry is routinely used in the emergency department, the pediatric ward, and in pediatric intensive and perioperative care. However, clinically relevant principles and inherent limitations of the method are not always well understood by health care professionals caring for children. The calculation of the percentage of arterial oxyhemoglobin is based on the distinct characteristics of light absorption in the red and infrared spectra by oxygenated versus deoxygenated hemoglobin and takes advantage of the variation in light absorption caused by the pulsatility of arterial blood. Computation of oxygen saturation is achieved with the use of calibration algorithms. Safe use of pulse oximetry requires knowledge of its limitations, which include motion artifacts, poor perfusion at the site of measurement, irregular rhythms, ambient light or electromagnetic interference, skin pigmentation, nail polish, calibration assumptions, probe positioning, time lag in detecting hypoxic events, venous pulsation, intravenous dyes, and presence of abnormal hemoglobin molecules. In this review we describe the physiologic principles and limitations of pulse oximetry, discuss normal values, and highlight its importance in common pediatric diseases, in which the principle mechanism of hypoxemia is ventilation/perfusion mismatch (eg, asthma exacerbation, acute bronchiolitis, pneumonia) versus hypoventilation (eg, laryngotracheitis, vocal cord dysfunction, foreign-body aspiration in the larynx or trachea). Additional technologic advancements in pulse oximetry and its incorporation into evidence-based clinical algorithms will improve the efficiency of the method in daily pediatric practice.

Repeat dosing of albuterol via metered-dose inhaler in infants with acute obstructive airway disease: a randomized controlled safety trial

BACKGROUND

Airway obstruction and bronchial hyperactivity often times lead to emergency department visits in infants. Inhaled short-acting beta2-agonist bronchodilators have traditionally been dispensed to young children via nebulizers in the emergency department. Delivery of bronchodilators via metered-dose inhalers (MDIs) in conjunction with holding chambers (spacers) has been shown to be effective.

STUDY OBJECTIVE

: Safety and efficacy evaluations of albuterol sulfate hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) inhalation aerosol in children younger than 2 years with acute wheezing caused by obstructive airway disease.

METHODS

A randomized, double-blind, parallel group, multicenter study of albuterol HFA 180 microg (n = 43) or 360 microg (n = 44) via an MDI with a valved holding chamber and face mask in an urgent-care setting. Assessments included adverse events, signs of adrenergic stimulation, electrocardiograms, and blood glucose and potassium levels. Efficacy parameters included additional albuterol use and Modified Tal Asthma Symptoms Score ([MTASS] reduction in MTASS representing improvement).

RESULTS

Overall, adverse events occurred in 4 (9%) and 3 (7%) subjects in the 180-microg and 360-microg groups, respectively. Drug-related tachycardia (360 microg) and ventricular extrasystoles (180 microg) were reported in 1 patient each. Three additional instances of single ventricular ectopy were identified from Holter monitoring. No hypokalemia or drug-related QT or QTc prolongation was seen; glucose values and adrenergic stimulation did not significantly differ between treatment groups. In the 180-microg and 360-microg groups, mean change from baseline in MTASS during the treatment period was -2.8 (-49.8%) and -2.9 (-48.4%), and rescue albuterol use occurred in 4 (9%) and 3 (7%) subjects, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Cumulative dosing with albuterol HFA 180 microg or 360 microg via MDI-spacer and face mask in children younger than 2 years did not result in any significant safety issues and improved MTASS by at least 48%.

[Management of acute asthma exacerbations in pediatrics]

Despite the significant advances that have been produced in the management of asthma in the last few decades, crises, attacks, or asthma exacerbations (acute asthma) continue to be the most common cause of consultation in pediatric emergency units. Visits to these units and hospital admissions due to acute asthma represent three quarters of the direct costs due to this disease. Acute asthma is a medical emergency that should be rapidly diagnosed and treated. Evaluation of children with acute asthma exacerbations should consist of two phases: a static phase (determination of the severity of the crisis on admission) and a dynamic phase (treatment response). The present article provides an in-depth review and analysis of current pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments (oxygen, bronchodilators, corticosteroids - inhaled and systemic - aminophylline, magnesium sulfate, etc.) of acute asthma exacerbations and proposes management protocols for use in both primary care and emergency units.

Short acting beta agonists for recurrent wheeze in children under 2 years of age

BACKGROUND

Wheeze is a common symptom in infancy and is a common cause for both primary care consultations and hospital admission. Beta2-adrenoceptor agonists (b2-agonists) are the most frequently used as bronchodilator but their efficacy is questionable.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the effectiveness of b2-agonist for the treatment of infants with recurrent and persistent wheeze.

SEARCH STRATEGY

Relevant trials were identified using the Cochrane Airways Group database (CENTRAL), Medline and Pubmed. The database search used the following terms: Wheeze or asthma and Infant or Child and Short acting beta-agonist or Salbutamol (variants), Albuterol, Terbutaline (variants), Orciprenaline, Fenoterol

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised controlled trials comparing the effect of b2-agonist against placebo in children under 2 years of age who had had two or more previous episodes of wheeze, not related to another form of chronic lung disease.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Eight studies met the criteria for inclusion in this meta-analysis. The studies investigated patients in three settings: at home (3 studies), in hospital (2 studies) and in the pulmonary function laboratory (3 studies). The main outcome measure was change in respiratory rate except for community based studies where symptom scores were used.

MAIN RESULTS

The studies were markedly heterogeneous and between study comparisons were limited. Improvement in respiratory rate, symptom score and oxygen saturation were noted in one study in the emergency department following two salbutamol nebulisers but this had no impact on hospital admission. There was a reduction in bronchial reactivity following salbutamol. There was no significant benefit from taking regular inhaled salbutamol on symptom scores recorded at home.

REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS

There is no clear benefit of using b2-agonists in the management of recurrent wheeze in the first two years of life although there is conflicting evidence. At present, further studies should only be performed if the patient group can be clearly defined and there is a suitable outcome parameter capable of measuring a response.

Randomized trial of salbutamol via metered-dose inhaler with spacer versus nebulizer for acute wheezing in children less than 2 years of age

The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of salbutamol delivered via a metered-dose inhaler with a spacer and facial mask (MDI-S) vs. a nebulizer (NEB) for the treatment of acute exacerbations of wheezing in children. In a single-blind, prospective, randomized clinical trial, 123 outpatients (1-24 months of age), presenting with "moderate to severe" wheezing, were seen in the emergency department. Children were randomly assigned to one of two salbutamol treatment groups. In the first hour, the MDI-S group received 2 puffs (100 microg/puff) every 10 min for 5 doses, and the NEB group received 0.25 mg/kg every 13 min for 3 doses. If the clinical score was >5 at the end of the first hour, the patients received another hour of the same treatment and also betamethasone (0.5 mg/kg intramuscular). On enrollment and after the first and the second hour of treatment each child had a validated clinical score assigned by a blinded investigator. There were no differences at the time of admission to the emergency department between groups in clinical score or demographic data. Success (clinical score </=5) after the first hour of treatment was 90% (56/62) in the MDI-S group and 71% (43/61) in the NEB group (odds ratio 3.9, 95% confidence interval 1.5-10.4, P = 0.01). After the second hour, the success was 100% in the MDI-S and 94% in the NEB (P > 0.05). We conclude that in this study population, children less than 2 years of age with moderate-severe exacerbations of wheezing responded faster to salbutamol delivered by MDI with a spacer and facial mask than to salbutamol delivered by nebulizer.