Urgent Updates | January 19

Associations between outdoor air pollutants and non-viral asthma exacerbations and airway inflammatory responses in children and adolescents living in urban areas in the USA: a retrospective secondary analysis
Asthma prevalence and severity have markedly increased with urbanization, and children in low-income urban centers have among the greatest asthma morbidity. Outdoor air pollution has been associated with adverse respiratory effects in children with asthma. In this retrospective analysis of data, researchers identified that increased air quality index values, driven predominantly by increased PM2·5 and O3 concentrations, were significantly associated with asthma exacerbations and decreases in pulmonary function that occurred in the absence of a provoking viral infection suggest that air pollution is an important independent risk factor for asthma exacerbations in children living in urban areas and is potentially linked to exacerbations through specific inflammatory pathways in the airway.
Full Access: LANCET

Emergency Department Pediatric Readiness and Short-term and Long-term Mortality Among Children Receiving Emergency Care
In this cohort study of 796 937 children cared for in 983 EDs, there was 60% to 76% lower odds of in-hospital death associated with care in high-readiness EDs; among a subset of 545 921 children followed up beyond hospitalization, the benefit of high-readiness EDs persisted to 1 year.  If all these EDs had high pediatric readiness, an estimated 1442 pediatric deaths may have been prevented.
Full Access: JAMA

Antibiotic Use As A Risk Factor For Inflammatory Bowel Disease Across The Ages: A Population-Based Cohort Study
Using Denmark nationwide registries, a population-based cohort of residents aged ≥10 years was established between 2000 and 2018. Antibiotic exposure is associated with an increased risk of IBD, and was highest among individuals aged 40 years and older. This risk increased with cumulative antibiotic exposure, with antibiotics targeting gastrointestinal pathogens and within 1–2 years after antibiotic exposure.
Full Access: BMJ