To analyze the clinical characteristics of corticosteroid-resistant refractory Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (RMPP) and explore the related factors that predict corticosteroid-resistant RMPP. Retrospective analysis of 183 children with RMPP in our hospital admitted between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2014 was performed. Of the 183 RMPP cases, 36 (19.7%) were corticosteroid-resistant RMPP cases. Corticosteroid-resistant RMPP cases had a longer duration of fever and hospitalization compared with corticosteroid-sensitive RMPP cases (P < 0.05). The radiographic findings of 123 (83.7%) cases of corticosteroid-sensitive RMPP apparently resolved after one week of corticosteroid treatment compared with 4 (11.1%) corticosteroid-resistant RMPP cases that had apparently resolution (P < 0.01). Twenty-four (75%) corticosteroid-resistant RMPP patients who received bronchoscopy had mucus plug formation while none of the corticosteroid-sensitive RMPP patients had mucus plug formation (P < 0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that duration of fever ≥11 days, percentage of lymphocytes ≤32%, CRP ≥48.73 mg/L and LDH ≥ 545.7 U/L were significant predictors of corticosteroid-resistant RMPP. Patients with corticosteroid-resistant RMPP had more severe presentations and more serious radiological findings. Clinicians might use the parameters of duration of fever, CRP, LDH and proportion of lymphocytes to identify children at higher risk of corticosteroid-resistant RMPP.

To comprehensively evaluate the etiology of chronic cough and the value of clinical feature in school age children in Suzhou, China. School-age (6-14 years) children newly referred with chronic cough (>4 weeks) were prospectively evaluated by utilizing a diagnostic algorithm in this study. Clinical features of different etiologies of chronic cough were also investigated. In total, 118 patients were enrolled in the study. The cough duration ranged from 1 to 76 months. Upper airway cough syndrome (UACS) was found in 77 (65.3%) patients with chronic cough, cough-variant asthma (CVA) in 57 (48.3%) patients, protracted bronchitis (PB) in 15 (12.7%) patients, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in 7 (5.9%) patients, tic disorders (TD) in 3 (2.5%) patients and eosinophilic bronchitis (EB) in 2 (1.7%) patients. A single etiology was present in 75 patients and multiple etiologies were present in 43 patients. The three most common single etiologies were UACS (31.4%), CVA (14.4%), and PB (10.2%), followed by GERD (5.9%), and EB (1.7%). The most common multiple etiology was CVA + UACS (31.4%), followed by CVA + PB (2.5%), and TD + UACS (2.5%). The common etiologies of chronic cough in school-age children were UACS, CVA, and PB, while EB and GERD were rare.

Background: Chronic cough is a common symptom in children. We wished to explore the value of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) for cough-variant asthma (CVA) in children with chronic cough. Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted in the Children’s Hospital of Soochow University from January 2012 to December 2014. Children aged 6–14 years with a cough of duration >4 weeks were enrolled. They underwent FeNO measurement, sputum cytology and pulmonary function tests. Results: A total of 115 patients and 25 healthy controls were evaluated. For the diagnosis of CVA, the optimal FeNO cutoff value was 25 ppb with a sensitivity of 84.0%, specificity of 97.1%, positive predictive value of 97.5%, and negative predictive of being 81.4%. The FeNO level had a significant correlation with eosinophil count in sputum (P<0.05). FeNO level in CVA was decreased significantly after treatment (P=0.001). Conclusions: In children, FeNO measurement might be an excellent method for diagnosing CVA with high sensitivity and specificity.

Background: Guidelines of the Global Initiative for Asthma recommend the use of peak expiratory flow (PEF) in the assessment and management of patients with asthma. However, normal PEF values for Chinese children have not been thoroughly investigated. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 3,169 healthy children aged 5–14 years from research centers in five cities of China: Guangzhou, Suzhou, Chengdu, Xi’an, and Beijing. We established pediatric reference values for PEF using a mini peak flow meter. PEF values recorded by the mini peak flow meter were compared with those obtained using a spirometer. Results: Height was the biometric variable with greatest correlation to PEF for both sexes. Significant differences were noted between males and females. The regression equation for boys was calculated as PEF =4.39× height (cm) −300.48 (R² =0.76, P<0.001); for girls, this equation was PEF =4.13× height (cm) –278.04 (R² =0.72, P<0.001). PEF values for Chinese children according to age were close to those of Irish, Turkish, and British children but were lower than those of children in Greece; PEF values according to height were similar to those of Turkish and Danish children but lower than values for children in Ireland. Conclusions: We established normal PEF values and developed predictive equations using linear regression analysis for Chinese children aged 5–14 years, while Greece and Ireland references were inappropriate for Chinese children.

Background: We aimed to examine cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in immunocompetent infants with pertussis, based on polymerase chain reaction in plasma and broncho alveolar lavage (BAL), and to assess the clinical characteristics and outcomes for these patients.Methods: We performed a prospective observational cohort study of consecutive infants with pertussis in Children’s Hospital of Soochow University between Jan 2017 and Jan 2020. We report the burden of CMV PCR in plasma and BAL within this patient group, and evaluate associations between CMV infection and pertussis in these hospitalized infants.Results: During the study period, 1,867 infants <1 years were evaluated for pertussis, 190 infants were diagnosed as pertussis. For the 190 pertussis patients, 38 (20.0%) patients had positive CMV PCR in plasma. CMV PCR in plasma had high sensitivity and specificity for CMV PCR in BAL (81.3% and 94.4%, respectively). Children with positive CMV PCR in plasma were 3.67 times more likely to present with severe disease (OR 3.67; CI 1.61-8.36). Comparisons of duration of hospital stay curves using the log-rank test statistic demonstrated that the relative risk of longer hospital stay of positive CMV PCR relative to negative CMV was 1.51 (95% CI: 1.05 to 2.14, P = 0.01).Conclusions: Our study reported a high prevalence of CMV reactivation in immunocompetent infants with lower respiratory tract infection. The presence of CMV in plasma may be associated with an unfavorable outcome in infants with pertussis.