AMERICAN THORACIC SOCIETY (ATS) JOURNAL NEWS TIPS FOR JULY
LOW VITAMIN A INCREASES RISK OF RESPIRATORY DISTRESS SYNDROME
Mild vitamin A deficiency can lead to increased risk of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), a study of rat fetuses has shown. For the first time, French investigators have demonstrated that a mild deficit of vitamin A reduced surfactant components in fetal rat lungs, hampering lung development. Although the study was in animals, the scientists believe physicians should check vitamin A status during pregnancy for all at-risk women. The study appears in the July American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology.
ASTHMA MORE SEVERE AND COSTLY AMONG OLDER PERSONS
A study of direct costs in 3,223 adult asthma patients who received treatment in emergency departments and hospitals shows the disease is more severe and costly in older patients. About 66.6 percent were treated for asthma in the emergency department at an average cost of $234. The average cost of the remaining 33.3 percent (1,074 patients) who were treated in the hospital was $3,602 for those 45 years and older, in contrast to $2,731 for those under 45. The researchers said the 33.3 percent who were hospitalized accounted for almost 87 percent of the direct costs to the hospitals. They recommend a continuum of care aimed at avoiding hospitalization, especially for the elderly, to reduce direct costs. The study appears in the July issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
ATS OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON RARE NEWBORN BREATHING DISORDER
A disorder uncovered in very early life, Idiopathic Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome (CCHS) is a rare problem characterized by abnormalities associated with the autonomic regulation of the cardiovascular and/or respiratory systems. Mostly affecting infants as they sleep, its victims take shallow breaths and have lower than normal ventilation in the tiny air sacs of the lung where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. To speed early diagnosis, an ATS official statement, by four physician experts, is published in the July American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
For the complete text of the articles, see the ATS Journal Online Website at www.atsjournals.org. To request complimentary journalist access to the site, or to be put on a mailing list for a monthly ATS Media Memo and News Briefs, please contact Lori Atkins at (212) 315-6442, by fax at (212) 315-6455, or [email protected]
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