Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 19, 2025
Methodology for Sputum Induction and Laboratory Processing
Published on: December 17, 2017
Update on Interventions in Prevention and Treatment of Pediatric Asthma
Elisabetta Calamelli1,2, Paolo Bottau1, Marcello Lanari3
1Pediatric and Neonatology Unit, Imola Hospital, Imola (BO), Italy.
Insights
This review summarizes advances in pediatric asthma prevention and treatment. Early life interventions, including non-pharmacological and pharmacological approaches, are key to managing childhood asthma effectively.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Allergy and Immunology
- Public Health
Background:
- Asthma is a global health concern with significant morbidity and healthcare costs.
- Developing effective prevention and treatment strategies for pediatric asthma is crucial.
- This review focuses on early-life interventions for childhood asthma.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize the latest advancements in pediatric asthma prevention and treatment.
- To highlight effective intervention options for early stages of life.
- To provide an overview of current research in childhood asthma management.
Main Methods:
- Literature search of PubMed using terms 'pediatric asthma', 'treatment', and 'prevention'.
- Inclusion of meta-analyses, randomized controlled trials, reviews, and systematic reviews.
- Focus on human subjects aged 0-18 years, classifying interventions as non-pharmacological or pharmacological.
Main Results:
- Non-pharmacological approaches identified genetic/environmental factors (susceptibility, sensitization, microbiome, infections, pollutants).
- Optimized pharmacological strategies and new treatments have improved asthma management.
- Improvements led to reduced healthcare costs and enhanced patient quality of life.
Conclusions:
- Childhood asthma prevention and treatment remain a global challenge.
- Future efforts should target high-risk populations and reduce intervention costs.
- Increasing adherence to treatment strategies is essential for better outcomes.
Background:
Asthma represents a worldwide health problem with a strong morbidity and a major impact on the health care system. Multiple efforts have been made towards the development of new strategies for the prevention and treatment of this disorder. In the light of this the present review of the literature aimed at summarizing the latest advances in prevention and treatment of pediatric asthma with a focus on the most effective options of interventions during the first stages of life.
Methods:
References were identified by searches of PubMed. Search terms used in the search were "pediatric asthma", "treatment" and "prevention". We included only meta-analysis, randomized controlled trials, reviews and systematic review articles pertaining to humans and subjects aged 0-18 years. All the interventions have been classified as "non-pharmacological" and "pharmacological".
Results:
Non-pharmacological interventions have been focused in identifying the genetic and environmental factors underlying the pathogenesis of this disease, including the individual genetic susceptibility, the early allergic sensitization, the role of the environmental microbiome and the exposure to infections and to pollutants. Moreover, the optimization of the existing pharmacological strategies and the development of new treatment options have improved markedly the management of this disease, thereby reducing the health care costs and ameliorating the quality of life of patients.
Conclusion:
Childhood asthma prevention and treatment still represents a worldwide challenge. Future efforts should be aimed at identifying high risk target populations, minimizing the costs of each policy of intervention and increasing adherence to treatment strategies.
