[Obstructive air way disease in infants and children]

Obstruktive airway disease in children are a heterogeneous entity of different age specific phenotypes. In infants and preschoolers, episodically occurring viral induced wheezing episodes are frequent and often transient. Approximately 10 % of children, however, develop a more chronic form of obstructive airway symptoms, often triggered by multiple factors such as viruses, pollutants and/or aeroallergens. The latter form, commonly referred as bronchial asthma, requires a different therapeutic approach using combined therapy with a preventive anti-inflammatory therapy as well as additional bronchodilator therapy. Whereas purely viral induced forms of wheezing disorders require only bronchodilator therapy on demand. The current review provides strategies to clinically identify these various phenotypes and describes phenotype specific treatment recommendations based on national and international guidelines.