Management of paediatric asthma

Abstract

Asthma, together with allergic rhinitis are the commonest chronic conditions in children¹ and despite our understanding of the pathophysiology, clinical presentation and having excellent asthma therapies, the disease remains poorly controlled.²

Asthma is diagnosed on the basis of recurrent ‘troublesome lung symptoms,’ (chronic cough and wheeze).³

Once the diagnosis of asthma is made in a child, and that includes all children of all ages, intervention with an inhaled corticosteroid trial is perfectly acceptable. Children require special tools to be able to use inhalers and those include spacers and powder devices.

That is often the easy part of asthma management. What should happen next is where we are letting our patients and children down.