[Particularities of childhood asthma]
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Bronchial Thermoplasty: A Novel Therapeutic Approach to Severe Asthma
Published on: November 4, 2010
1Service de péddiatrie, centre hospitalier intercommunal de Créteil, 40, Avenue de Verdun, 94000 Créteil. christophe.delacourt@chicreteil.fr
Insights
Childhood asthma is often underdiagnosed, leading to undertreatment. Early diagnosis and appropriate inhaled corticosteroid therapy are crucial for managing pediatric asthma effectively.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric respiratory medicine
- Allergy and immunology
Context:
- Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease in children.
- Underdiagnosis and undertreatment are significant challenges in pediatric asthma management.
- Accurate diagnosis, particularly in infants, requires ruling out other causes of wheezing.
Purpose:
- To highlight the importance of systematic diagnosis in pediatric asthma.
- To emphasize the role of inhaled corticosteroids in asthma therapy.
- To discuss age-appropriate inhalation techniques and treatment strategies.
Summary:
- Systematic chest X-rays are recommended for asthma diagnosis in children.
- Therapy is guided by asthma severity, primarily using inhaled corticosteroids.
- Low doses and age-appropriate inhalation techniques are advised for pediatric patients.
Impact:
- Early and accurate diagnosis can prevent undertreatment of pediatric asthma.
- Effective management with inhaled corticosteroids can improve outcomes for children with asthma.
- Understanding the long-term prognosis, with infants often outgrowing symptoms while school-aged children may face adult persistence, informs treatment approaches.
Abstract:
Asthma is the most frequent respiratory chronic disease in children. Underdiagnosis is frequent, resulting in undertreatment. Elimination of alternative causes of wheezing is a key step of asthma diagnosis, especially in infants. Chest X-ray must be systematically performed. Therapy is guided by the evaluation of asthma severity and is based on inhaled corticosteroids. As far as possible, low doses of inhaled corticosteroids must be delivered to children. Inhalation techniques must be adapted to the age of children. Most of asthmatic infants will stop wheezing before school age. On the contrary, most of shool-age asthmatic children will be still symptomatic at adulthood.
Related Concept Videos
Asthma III: Clinical Manifestations
Asthma I: Introduction
Asthma-I: Introduction
Asthma-III: Symptoms and Complications
Classification of Asthma
Asthma: Pathogenesis and Management
Asthma is classified as allergic and non-allergic. Allergens such as dust mites, pollen, and pet dander trigger allergic asthma, while factors like cold air, intense emotions, or exercise can induce non-allergic asthma.
Asthma-IV: Diagnostic and Management
Clinical Assessment for Asthma:
This is the first step in diagnosing and managing asthma. It includes: