Evidence-based European guidelines for the diagnosis of asthma in children aged 5–16 years

Abstract

Asthma is the most common non-communicable disease in children, but there is no single test available to confirm the diagnosis. In most cases, the diagnosis in children is made in non-specialist settings on the basis of clinical history and physical examination alone.1 Lingering respiratory symptoms, such as prolonged cough, resulting from viral respiratory tract infections, are common in children2 and often wrongly attributed to asthma.3 However, non-specialists frequently refrain from diagnosing asthma in children to avoid giving them a potentially life-long diagnostic label that could affect future job choices.