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The following is a summary of “Parental Report of Indoor Air Pollution is Associated with Respiratory Morbidities In Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia,” published in the August 2024 issue of Pediatrics by Rice et al.

To examine the impact of indoor air pollution on respiratory morbidities in children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the multicenter Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Collaborative. This study focused on children under three enrolled in the BPD Collaborative Outpatient Registry. 

Indoor air pollution was defined as exposure to tobacco or marijuana smoke, electronic cigarette emissions, gas stoves, or wood stoves. Clinical outcomes assessed included acute care utilization and chronic respiratory symptoms over the previous four weeks. The study included 1,011 children with a mean gestational age of 26.4 ± 2.2 weeks, of whom 66.6% had severe BPD. Over 40% of participants were exposed to at least one source of indoor air pollution. The analysis revealed that exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) significantly increased the odds of emergency department visits (OR 1.7 [95% CI: 1.18, 2.45]), antibiotic use (OR 1.9 [95% CI: 1.12, 3.21]), and systemic steroid courses (OR 2.18 [95% CI: 1.24, 3.84]) compared to those without SHS exposure. 

Additionally, exposure to other forms of air pollution (excluding SHS) was associated with increased odds of antibiotic use (OR 1.48 [95% CI: 1.08, 2.03]). However, indoor air pollution, including SHS, did not show a significant association with chronic respiratory symptoms or the use of rescue medications. These findings underscore the adverse effects of indoor air pollution, particularly secondhand smoke, on acute respiratory health in children with BPD, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to mitigate such exposures and improve clinical outcomes.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022347624003445