Preventive therapy for asthma in children; a 9-year experience in eastern Finland

The long-term treatment modalities of bronchial asthma were studied in children from a defined Finnish population from 1985 to 1993, with special reference to changes during the study period. The data on maintenance drugs in children with asthma from five years (1985, 1987, 1989, 1991 and 1993) were retrospectively retrieved from the computerized registers. The reliability of the data for the diagnosis and basic treatment of asthma was checked by one of the authors, who compared the data with the patient cards from the hospital. The number of children with doctor-diagnosed asthma increased continuously during the surveillance period. The proportion of children receiving preventive medication increased concomitantly; this increase was most pronounced between 1987 and 1989. The most common preventive drug was sodium cromoglycate; its use increased from 14% in 1985 to 58% in 1993. The use of inhaled steroids remained stable at 17-19% in all surveillance years. Our treatment policy is in accordance with the international consensus statement published in 1989; however, the change towards preventive medication occurred before its publication.