Management of asthma

Abstract

Despite recent advances in the understanding and treatment of asthma, it remains an important cause of illness in children. It causes recurrent absence from school, restriction of activities, and much anxiety and unhappiness for children and parents. Hospital admissions for asthma in children in the O-4 years age group increased almost seven-fold between 1970 and 1986 and admissions for children in the 5-14 age group tripled.’ Asthma is responsible for a fifth of all admissions to paediatric wards in the 5-14 age group.’ Consultations with General Practitioners for asthma have doubled in the last decade. Whether these changes represent a real increase in prevalence, or whether they simply reflect changes in referral, management, or diagnosis, is unclear.2 What is clear, is that despite having safe, effective treatment there is no decrease in asthma morbidity. Why is this so?