What do research ethics committees say about applications to conduct research involving children?

Objective: To identify issues raised by research ethics committees (RECs) in letters about applications to conduct research involving children. Methods: Analysis of 80 provisional and unfavourable opinion decision letters written by RECs in response to applications to conduct research involving child participants. Results: RECs were most likely to be concerned about issues relating to consent, recruitment, care and protection of participants, scientific design and confidentiality. RECs focused on children's status as “vulnerable”. They sought to ensure that children would be protected, that appropriate written language would be used to communicate with children and that an appropriate person would give consent for children to participate. Implications: Researchers should be attentive to issues of potential vulnerability when preparing applications. REC letters may be improved by giving clear and explicit reasons for their opinions

Towards a metabolomic approach to respiratory disease in childhood: Feasibility and acceptability of a novel breath-sampling procedure and initial breath analysis data

Asthma diagnosis and treatment is based mainly on presence of symptoms and response to treatment. This carries the risk of misdiagnosis and under- or overtreatment. The focus in asthma management has shifted to the underlying chronic airway inflammation. We are developing a novel approach in which breath samples are analysed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that alone or in combination may be used as biomarkers for airway inflammation. The aims of the current study are (1) to determine the feasibility and acceptability of the sampling procedures for children aged 8-16 years, and (2) to collect preliminary data on potential candidate markers. [Taken from Introduction and Objectives