Eastern European parents’ experiences of parenting a child with SEN in England

Parenting a child with Special Educational Needs (SEN) presents numerous challenges for families. For immigrant parents, these challenges can be particularly difficult to overcome when faced with structural, cultural and linguistic barriers. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of eight Eastern European immigrants parenting a child with SEN in England. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and a data-driven thematic analysis of a series of interviews was carried out. The study identified two key themes: (a) embarking on an unpredicted journey and (b) navigating through challenges. The analyses highlight discrepancies in partnership working between parents and educators and shortcomings in advice that professionals provided to these parents, potentially placing pupils and their families at a disadvantage. The implications for educational psychologists (EPs) and other professionals working with Eastern European parents raising a child with SEN are also discussed

Malattie virali dell’apparato respiratorio

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Eastern European parents' experiences of parenting a child with SEN in England

Parenting a child with Special Educational Needs (SEN) presents numerous challenges for families. For immigrant parents, these challenges can be particularly difficult to overcome when faced with structural, cultural and linguistic barriers. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of 8 Eastern European immigrants parenting a child with SEN in England. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and a data-driven thematic analysis of a series of interviews was carried out. The study identified two key themes: (a) embarking on an unpredicted journey and (b) navigating through challenges. The analyses highlight discrepancies in partnership working between parents and educators and shortcomings in advice that professionals provided to these parents, potentially placing pupils and their families at a disadvantage. The implications for educational psychologists (EP) and other professionals working with Eastern European parents raising a child with SEN are also discussed

Eastern European parents' experiences of parenting a child with SEN in England

Parenting a child with Special Educational Needs (SEN) presents numerous challenges for families. For immigrant parents, these challenges can be particularly difficult to overcome when faced with structural, cultural and linguistic barriers. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of 8 Eastern European immigrants parenting a child with SEN in England. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and a data-driven thematic analysis of a series of interviews was carried out. The study identified two key themes: (a) embarking on an unpredicted journey and (b) navigating through challenges. The analyses highlight discrepancies in partnership working between parents and educators and shortcomings in advice that professionals provided to these parents, potentially placing pupils and their families at a disadvantage. The implications for educational psychologists (EP) and other professionals working with Eastern European parents raising a child with SEN are also discussed

Interactions of airway pathogens and inflammatory processes

The clinical history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is punctuated by recurrent episodes of increases in dyspnea, cough, or sputum production named exacer- bations. In addition to increasing COPD-associated morbidity and mortality, exacerbations contribute to loss of lung function and impaired health status in COPD patients (1). Although it is often assumed that exacerbations are associated with increased airway inflammation, there is little information on the nature of the acute-on-chronic inflammation that characterizes these episodes. Most of the data currently available refer to soluble indirect markers of airway inflammation rather than inflammatory cell infiltration per se (2). Infections of the tracheobronchial tree, together with air pollution, are considered the most common causes of COPD exacerbations (1). Whether different patterns of airway inflammation correspond to different etiologies is largely unknown. Better understanding of these relationships and of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms would give the opportunity to identify relevant targets (pathogens and inflammation) for the treatment and prevention of COPD exacerbations. Many exacerbations are associated with symptoms of infection of the tracheobron- chial tree, and bacteria have been considered the main infective cause of exacerbations (1). Determining the contribution of bacteria to exacerbations is difficult, as COPD patients are often colonized with bacteria even when clinically stable (3). The proportion of patients with positive bacterial cultures and a high bacterial load increases during exacerbations in most, although not in all, studies (4–6). Newer molecular techniques have recently shown that colonization is not a static condition and there is a frequent turnover of different strains of bacteria evoking specific host responses (7). Thus, it is likely that a change in the strain but not the organism may be responsible for the exacerbations. Therefore, previous studies lacking in the molecular characterization of bacterial strains may have missed evidence of a new infection. Indeed, it has been documented that the acquisition of a new strain of colonizing bacteria increases the risk of an exacerbation (8). In the last few decades, the use of highly sensitive diagnostic methods, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), to evaluate the association between respiratory virus infections and COPD exacerbations has shown that viruses are responsible for a much higher proportion of exacerbations than was previously realized. In a study of the East London COPD cohort, respiratory viruses were detected in 39% of exacerbations, the most common being rhinoviruses that accounted for 58% of viruses (9). A respiratory virus was detected in around 50% of patients with severe COPD exacerbation admitted to hospitals in Germany and Italy, with rhinovirus again being the most common (5,10). In patients with very severe COPD exacerbations requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation, viruses were identified in 47% of patients (11). At variance with bacterial infections, the respiratory viruses more commonly found at exacerbations were virtually absent in stable state (5,12), suggesting that they play a relevant role in the etiology of the acute episodes

Interactions of airway pathogens and inflammatory processes

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Nothing but lung and bones: Longitudinal evolution and quantitative analysis in a case of idiopathic diffuse pulmonary ossification

A 77-year-old Caucasian man, a former surveyor in a chemical company, underwent a chest X-ray (CXR) as a follow-up exam for a melanoma of the back, surgically removed. CXR showed interstitial thickening in both lower lobes; then, a high-resolution computed tomography of the chest (HRCT) was performed to further investigate these findings, revealing multiple small, calcified nodules with branching appearance at both lung bases. Clinical examination and exposure history were negative, except for a decrease in diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide resulting from pulmonary function tests. Surgical lung biopsy was performed; histology revealed numerous nodules and branching tubules of bone tissue, some of which with marrow elements. After multidisciplinary discussion of the case, a diagnosis of idiopathic diffuse pulmonary ossification (DPO) was considered. Clinical status of the patient was stable over time, despite the increase in extent of calcifications. DPO is an uncommon condition that should be considered in different clinical-radiological settings; multidisciplinary discussion is essential for the final diagnosis

Viral infections in exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Respiratory viral infections are recognized as the most frequent cause of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations with rhinovirus (i.e. the virus of the common cold) being the most frequent identified virus. The recent development of human experimental models of rhinovirus-induced asthma and COPD exacerbations represent innovative tools with the potential to increase our understanding in this field. Moreover this models will provide the opportunity to test, in a carefully controlled setting, novel pharmacological compounds. In this review we will provide an overview of the role of viral infections in asthma and COPD exacerbations and in particular we will summarize the inflammatory and immunological mechanisms that can pave the way to exacerbation following respiratory viral infection in these patients