The Journal of asthma : official journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma •
: Studies concerning asthma in Lebanon investigated environmental and personal factors but none of them took into account the effect of nutritional habits. Our objective is to assess the effect of nutritional habits on asthma and allergies in Lebanese children aged 3-16Â years old. : This is a case-control study, conducted between December 2015 and April 2016. The Food Frequency Questionnaire was composed of 16 semi-quantitative questions covering different food categories. : This study included 1,276 children (976 healthy and 300 asthmatic children). Eating dairy products less than twice a week, 3-6Â times per week and daily were significantly and inversely associated with asthma, as compared to never eating dairy products ( = 0.02, ORa = 0.285, CI 0.099-0.821; < 0.001, ORa = 0.140, CI 0.052-0.378 and < 0.001, ORa = 0.161, CI 0.061-0.422), whereas eating red meat daily compared to never was associated with asthma significantly ( = 0.037, ORa = 2.051, CI 1.046-4.024). Eating nuts less than twice weekly as compared to never was significantly and inversely associated with asthma ( = 0.035, ORa = 0.597, CI 0.369-0.965). The age categories 7-10 and 11-13Â years were significantly associated with asthma as compared to the 3-6Â years category ( < 0.001, ORa = 3.359, CI 1.869-6.038 and = 0.008, ORa = 2.191, CI 1.228-3.909, respectively), while male gender was significantly more prone to asthma ( = 0.014, ORa = 0.686, CI 0.507-0.926). : Knowing the correlation between nutritional habits and asthma is important to promote healthy eating. Educational programs for parents about healthy food and breastfeeding encouragement is warranted.
Journal of oncology pharmacy practice : official publication of the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners •
To compare characteristics of patients exhibiting cetuximab infusion reactions or another adverse drug reaction related to cetuximab and to identify factors associated with the severity of cetuximab infusion reactions. All cases of adverse drug reaction reported with cetuximab from 1985 to 2010 were extracted from the French Pharmacovigilance database. The severity of infusion reactions was assessed according to the NCI-CTCAE criteria (v4.0). Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with the severity of infusion reactions. Among the 602 adverse drug reaction reported with cetuximab during the study period, 374 infusion reactions were identified. Indication is more likely to be head and neck than colorectal cancer among patients experiencing an infusion reaction (p < 0.001). Among the seven deaths related to an infusion reaction, five patients were treated for head and neck cancer. Infusion reactions were more likely to be severe when they occurred during the first administration (OR = 7.40 95% CI [2.21-24.71]), adjusted for age, sex, region of France, quarter of the year, indication, year of occurrence, and premedication. Our study found that reports of infusion reactions more often concerned patients treated for head and neck cancer, that in these patients the adverse drug reaction was more often fatal and severe infusion reactions were more likely during the first administration. In daily practice, the close monitoring of patients during the first infusion, especially patients with head and neck cancer, is recommended. Considering the possible immunoglobulin E-mediated mechanism, reliable tests for their detection need to be readily available.