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Published on: August 7, 2017

Prenatal origins of bronchiolitis: protective effect of optimised asthma management during pregnancy

Joerg Mattes1, Vanessa E Murphy, Heather Powell

  • 1Experimental & Translational Respiratory Medicine Group, University of Newcastle and Hunter Medical Research Institute, , Newcastle, Austrália.

Thorax
|September 27, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Optimizing asthma management during pregnancy using fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) significantly reduced infant bronchiolitis. This intervention may lower the risk and severity of childhood asthma.

Area of Science:

  • Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Pediatrics
  • Pulmonology

Background:

  • Maternal asthma is a common pregnancy complication and a risk factor for infant bronchiolitis.
  • Recurrent infant bronchiolitis is linked to childhood asthma development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the impact of asthma management during pregnancy on infant bronchiolitis.
  • To determine if FeNO-guided asthma treatment in pregnant women reduces infant respiratory issues.

Main Methods:

  • Follow-up study of infants born to mothers in a randomized controlled trial for asthma during pregnancy.
  • Mothers were assigned to clinical symptom-based or FeNO-guided treatment algorithms.
  • Infant outcomes including recurrent bronchiolitis were assessed at 12 months.

Main Results:

  • Infants born to mothers in the FeNO group showed significantly fewer recurrent bronchiolitis episodes in the first year.
  • The odds ratio for recurrent bronchiolitis in the FeNO group was 0.08 (95% CI 0.01 to 0.62; p=0.016).

Conclusions:

  • Optimized asthma management in pregnancy, guided by FeNO, may decrease infant bronchiolitis.
  • This approach could potentially reduce the risk or severity of emerging childhood asthma.
Abstract

Keywords:
Asthma

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