Associations between pre- and postnatal antibiotic exposures and early allergic outcomes: A population-based birth cohort study

Factors influencing C-reactive protein status on admission in neonates after birth

OBJECTIVE

To explore the factors influencing C-reactive protein (CRP) status in neonates on admission after birth.

METHODS

820 newborns born and hospitalized at Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from Jan. 2020 to Dec. 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Maternal medical history and medication use during pregnancy, neonatal demographic information and status at birth were collected through the electronic medical record system. Statistical software was used to analyze the possible relationship between perinatal factors and CRP on admission after birth.

RESULTS

A total of 820 neonates were analyzed, including 463 males and 357 females with a mean gestational age (GA) of 36.07 ± 3.30 weeks. (1) Multifactor Logistic regression analysis: larger GA (OR: 1.13, 95%CI: 1.00-1.28, P = 0.042), premature rupture of membranes (PROM) ≥ 18 h (OR: 2.39, 95%CI: 1.35-4.23, P = 0.003) and maternal autoimmune diseases (OR: 5.30, 95%CI: 2.15-13.07, P < 0.001) were independent risk factors for CRP ≥ 8 mg/L. Cesarean delivery (OR 0.40, 95%CI: 0.26-0.60, P < 0.001) was independent protective factor for CRP ≥ 8 mg/L. (2) Threshold effect analysis: A non-linear relationship was found between GA and CRP. When GA is less than 33.9 weeks, the risk of CRP ≥ 8 mg/L was reduced by 28% with one week increased (P < 0.001), and when GA is more than 33.9 weeks, the risk of CRP ≥ 8 mg/L was increased by 61% with one week increased (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

GA, PROM, maternal autoimmune diseases and cesarean delivery were all independent influences neonatal CRP ≥ 8 mg/L on admission, and there was a nonlinear relationship between GA and neonatal CRP ≥ 8 mg/L on admission.

Revised Swedish infant feeding guidelines are associated with earlier introduction of allergenic foods

BACKGROUND

Randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that early introduction of allergenic foods, such as peanut and egg, can reduce food allergy in high-risk children. Many international guidelines recommend introduction of allergenic foods in the first year of life, and accordingly, the Swedish National Food agency released updated guidelines in June 2019.

OBJECTIVE

Our aim was to examine whether the age at introduction and consumption frequency of allergenic foods have changed since release of the revised national guidelines on the introduction of solid foods in Sweden.

METHODS

Children born between June 2016 and December 2018 (n = 1925) were compared with children born between June 2019 and April 2021 (n = 1761) by using data from the NorthPop Birth Cohort study. Data on food introduction, eczema, and food allergy were prospectively collected until age 18 months by using web-based questionnaires. IgE sensitization was assessed at 18 age months.

RESULTS

The proportion of participants who had been introduced to egg, legume, soy products, peanut, almond, and cashew nut during the first year of life increased after implementation of the revised national guidelines. The most significant changes were seen for legume (from 55.2% to 69.8% [adjusted odds ratio = 1.90 (95% CI = 1.62-2.24)]) and peanut (from 29.2% to 43.2% adjusted odds ratio = 1.87 (95% CI = 1.55-2.24)]); consumption frequency had also increased. No differences in the prevalence of eczema, food allergy, or sensitization to the foods of interest were found.

CONCLUSION

Since release of the revised guidelines, infants in the general population are introduced to and consume a variety of allergenic foods earlier and more frequently; however, early manifestations of allergic disease have remained unchanged.

[Recent research on the relationship between pulmonary microbiome and asthma endotypes in children]

Bronchial asthma is not considered a singular disease, but rather a collection of syndromes with multiple phenotypes and mechanisms that involve various signaling pathways. It typically emerges during the preschool years, and its etiology is intricate and diverse. In recent years, the advancement of high-throughput sequencing technology has revealed that early alterations in lung microbiota may be associated with asthma incidence and progression. Moreover, significant variations in lung microbiota have been observed among different airway inflammation profiles, known as asthma endotypes. Hence, a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of lung microbiota in children with asthma can aid in managing disease progression and improving long-term prognosis. Additionally, such insights may spark novel approaches to diagnosing and treating childhood asthma.

Fruit Pouch Consumption Does Not Associate with Early Manifestations of Allergic Disease

Consumption of acidic fruit pouches in infancy may damage the epithelial barrier in the gastrointestinal tract and is suggested to increase allergy risk. We aimed to explore if a high fruit pouch consumption is associated with a higher incidence of early allergic manifestations. We included 2959 parent-child dyads from the Swedish prospective, population-based NorthPop birth cohort study with parentally reported data on frequency of fruit pouch consumption at 9 months of age, as well as parentally reported eczema, wheeze, physician-diagnosed asthma, and food allergy in the first 18 months of life. Immunoglobulin E levels (IgE) in serum (n = 1792), as response to a food mix and an inhalant mix, were determined at age 18 months. Compared with no consumption, daily consumption of one or more pouches at 9 months of age was associated with inhalant sensitization (odds ratio (OR) 2.27, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06-4.87, n = 1792) but did not remain significant in the multivariable adjusted model (aOR 2.08, 95% CI 0.95-4.53, n = 1679). There were no associations between fruit pouch consumption and allergic manifestations at this young age. This study suggests that fruit pouch consumption is not associated with allergic phenotypes or IgE sensitization in early childhood.

Contributions of the early-life microbiome to childhood atopy and asthma development

The rapid rise in atopy and asthma in industrialized nations has led to the identification of early life environmental factors that promote these conditions and spurred research into how such exposures may mediate the trajectory to childhood disease development. Over the past decade, the human microbiome has emerged as a key determinant of human health. This is largely due to the increasing appreciation for the myriad of non-mutually exclusive mechanisms by which microbes tune and train host immunity. Microbiomes, particularly those in early life, are shaped by extrinsic and intrinsic factors, including many of the exposures known to influence allergy and asthma risk. This has led to the over-arching hypothesis that such exposures mediate their effect on childhood atopy and asthma by altering the functions and metabolic productivity of microbiomes that shape immune function during this critical developmental period. The capacity to study microbiomes at the genetic and molecular level in humans from the pre-natal period into childhood with well-defined clinical outcomes, offers an unprecedented opportunity to identify early-life and inter-generational determinants of atopy and asthma outcomes. Moreover, such studies provide an integrative microbiome research framework that can be applied to other chronic inflammatory conditions. This review attempts to capture key studies in the field that offer insights into the developmental origins of childhood atopy and asthma, providing novel insights into microbial mediators of maladaptive immunity and chronic inflammatory disease in childhood.

Are Babies Born Preterm High-Risk Asthma Candidates?

Among preterm infants, the risk of developing asthma is a matter of debate. This review discusses the state of the art of poorly understood prematurity-associated asthma. Impaired pulmonary function is common in children born prematurely. Preterm infants are prone to developing viral respiratory tract infections, bronchiolitis in the first year of life, and recurrent viral wheezing in preschool age. All of these conditions may precede asthma development. We also discuss the role of both atopic sensitization and intestinal microbiome and, consequently, immune maturation. Diet and pollution have been considered to better understand how prematurity could be associated with asthma. Understanding the effect of factors involved in asthma onset may pave the way to improve the prediction of this asthma phenotype.

Primary Prevention of Allergy - Is It Feasible?

The allergy epidemic has been attributed to environmental influences related to urbanization and the modern lifestyle. In this regard, various theories exploring the role of microbes (hygiene, old friends, microbiota, and biodiversity hypotheses), and the epithelial barrier (epithelial, dual allergen exposure and vitamin D hypotheses) have been proposed. These hypotheses have guided clinical studies that led to the formulation of intervention strategies during the proposed window of opportunity dubbed as the "first thousand days." The most significant intervention is a paradigm shift from allergen avoidance to early introduction of allergenic foods, particularly egg and peanut, around 6 months of age for the prevention of food allergy. This recommendation has been adopted globally and included in allergy prevention guidelines. Other strategies with less robust clinical evidence include: encouraging a healthy balanced diet, rich in fish, during pregnancy; continuing allergenic food intake during pregnancy and lactation; vitamin D supplementation in pregnant women with asthma; discouraging social indications for caesarean section delivery; judicious use of antibiotics in early childhood; daily emollient use from birth in high risk babies; and avoiding cow's milk formula use in the first week of life. However, if early supplementation with cow's milk formula is required, continuing at least 10 mL of formula daily until age 2 months may be considered. Translating these strategies to public health and clinical practice is still a work in progress. Long-term population studies are crucial to assess the feasibility of these measures on allergy prevention.

Maternal exposure to antibiotics and risk of atopic dermatitis in childhood: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Although the association between maternal exposure to antibiotics and the risk of atopic dermatitis (AD) in childhood has been studied extensively, there still is a lack of clarity on the topic. The aim of this study was to summarize the published data and to examine if maternal exposure to antibiotics increases the risk of AD in childhood.

Methods

Systematic search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase for all types of studies on the review subject independent of any language restrictions and published up to 28th December 2022. Data was analyzed using random-effects model and presented as pooled odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Results

A total of 18 studies (5,354,282 mother-child pairs) were included. Maternal exposure to antibiotics was associated with an increased risk of AD in childhood (OR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.22, I²= 85%, p = 0.0003). The significance of the results was not affected by the location of the study (Asia or Europe). While subgroup analysis based on exposure assessment or diagnosis of AD demonstrated a tendency of increased risk of AD, the association was not statistically significant in multiple subgroups. Segregating data based on the timing of exposure did not affect the significance of the results for studies on all trimesters. However, there was no association between antibiotic exposure in the third trimester or just before delivery and the risk of childhood AD.

Conclusion

The results of this meta-analysis suggest that maternal exposure to antibiotics may lead to a modestly increased risk of AD in offspring. The evidence is limited by high interstudy heterogeneity and bias in exposure and outcome assessment. Future studies are needed to explore if the timing of exposure, the dose, the number of prescriptions, and the type of antibiotic affect this association.

Systematic Review Registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42023387233.

Appropriate Use of Antibiotic and Principles of Antimicrobial Stewardship in Children

Antibiotics account for over 10% of the overall drug expense of the National Health System in Italy in 2021. Their use in children is of particular interest on one side, because acute infections are very common in children, while they build their immunologic library of competence; on the other side, although many acute infections are expected and turn out to be of viral origin, caregivers will often ask the family doctor or primary care attending to reassure them by prescribing antibiotic treatment, although it may often be unnecessary. The inappropriate prescription of antibiotics in children may likely be a source not only of undue economic burden for the public health system but also of increasing development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Based on those issues, the inappropriate use of antibiotics in children should be avoided to reduce the risks of unnecessary toxicity, increase in health costs, lifelong effects, and selection of resistant organisms causing undue deaths. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) describes a coherent set of actions that ensure an optimal use of antimicrobials to improve patient outcomes while limiting the risk of adverse events including AMR. The aim of this paper is to spread some concept of good use of antibiotics for pediatricians or every other physician involved in the choice to prescribe, or not, antibiotics in children. Several actions could be of help in this process, including the following: (1) identify patients with high probability of bacterial infection; (2) collect samples for culture study before starting antibiotic treatment if invasive bacterial infection is suspected; (3) select the appropriate antibiotic molecule based on local resistance and narrow spectrum for the suspected pathogen(s); avoid multi-antibiotic association; prescribe correct dosage; (4) choose the best route of administration (oral vs. parenteral) and the best schedule of administration for every prescription (i.e., multiple administration for beta lactam); (5) schedule clinical and laboratory re-evaluation with the aim to consider therapeutic de-escalation; (6) stop antibiotic administration as soon as possible, avoiding the application of "antibiotic course".