Table of contents

Original research

• Child mortality in England during the COVID-19 pandemic (21 June, 2021)

  David Odd, Sylvia Stoianova, Tom Williams, Vicky Sleap, Peter Blair, Peter Fleming, Ingrid Wolfe, Karen Luyt

  Child mortality was lower in 2020 than in 2019 . Older children and those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups were more likely to have a SARS-CoV-2 positive test.

• Implementing spirometry and fractional exhaled nitric oxide testing in childhood asthma management in UK primary care: an observational study to examine training and implementation cost and impact on patient’s health use and outcome (9 July, 2021)

  Yaling Yang, David KH Lo, Caroline Beardsmore, Damian Roland, Matthew Richardson, Lesley Danvers, Andrew Wilson, Erol A Gaillard

  Is FeNO testing in primary care cost effective? Yesℏ The average training cost for the 27 primary care clinical members was £1,395. The average cost to implement and deliver the tests-guided asthma review among the 612 included children was £22.

• Risk factors for asthma attacks and poor control in children: a prospective observational study in UK primary care (20 May, 2021)

  David Lo, Caroline Beardsmore, Damian Roland, Matthew Richardson, Yaling Yang, Lesley Danvers, Andrew Wilson, Erol A Gaillard

  Children who have had a previous attack and those with high levels of exhaled nitric oxide are at risk of a future attack. This study highlights the importance of measuring and recording these factors at asthma reviews in primary care.

• Social and ethnic group differences in healthcare use by children aged 0–14 years: a population-based cohort study in England from 2007 to 2017 (9 July, 2021)

  Charles Hamish Coughlan, Judith Ruzangi, Francesca K Neale, Behrouz Nezafat Maldonado, Mitch Blair, Alex Bottle, Sonia Saxena, Dougal Hargreaves

  Population-based retrospective cohort study using individual linked data from 2007 to 2017 show social and ethnic group differences in children’s use of healthcare services in England, with deprivation associated with higher emergency and lower scheduled care use.

• Impact of genetic tests on survivors of paediatric sudden cardiac arrest (14 June, 2021) Free

  Shuenn-Nan Chiu, Jyh-Ming Jimmy Juang, Wei-Chieh Tseng, Wen-Pin Chen, Ni-Chung Lee, Mei-Hwan Wu

  Sudden cardiac death / resuscitated survival is rare and distressing, with implications for siblings and parents too. In 32 Taiwanese survivors of SCD with previously negative gene testing, state-of-the-art composite genetic panel testing provided new, useful information for 85%. Test, now and test again later.

• Impaired grip strength in children with congenital heart disease (17 June, 2021)

  Michael Meyer, Yi Wang, Leon Brudy, Anna-Luisa Häcker, Thorsten Schulz, Heidi Weberruss, Renate Oberhoffer, Peter Ewert, Jan Müller

  Physical fitness is an important aspect of wellness. In 569 long term survivors of CHD surgery both grip strength & health-related physical fitness (a 5 parameter composite) were reduced but the reductions were unrelated. Grip strength is easily assessed but is not a surrogate for the more complex tool.

• Feeding disorders in children with oesophageal atresia: a cross-sectional study (16 April, 2021)

  Aurélie Pham, Emmanuelle Ecochard-Dugelay, Arnaud Bonnard, Enora Le Roux, Thomas Gelas, Véronique Rousseau, Nadège Thomassin, Isabelle Cabon-Boudard, Audrey Nicolas, Audrey Guinot, Julie Rebeuh, Aurélie Le Mandat, Djamal-Dine Djeddi, Virginie Fouquet, Aurélie Boucharny, Sabine Irtan, Julie Lemale, Aurélie Comte, Laure Bridoux-Henno, Claire Dupont-Lucas, Georges Dimitrov, Anne Turquet, Corinne Borderon, Cécile Pelatan, Emilie Chaillou Legault, Camille Jung, Stéphanie Willot, Louise Montalva, Delphine Mitanchez, Frederic Gottrand, Marc Bellaiche

  This study of patients from the French national network oesophageal atresia (OA) registry used a standardised questionnaire to investigate the frequency of feeding disorders. These were diagnosed in 42%, of whom over a third had failed to thrive. The authors advocate systematic feeding assessment in follow up of children operated on for OA.

• Facilitators and barriers to the delivery of palliative care to children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions: a qualitative study of the experiences and perceptions of healthcare professionals (12 May, 2021)

  Sarah Mitchell, Anne-Marie Slowther, Jane Coad, Sophie Bertaud, Jeremy Dale

  Interviews with healthcare professionals explored facilitators and barriers to the use of palliative care. Implications for future practice are discussed.