Childhood Asthma Often Under-Recognised, Under-Diagnosed

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Title: Childhood Asthma Often Under-Recognised, Under-Diagnosed
URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/22E65E.htm
Doctor's Guide
October 8, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS -- October 8, 2008 -- The diagnosis of asthma in a young child may well be more challenging to paediatricians than previously appreciated, according to a review of research and clinical experience literature published in the October issue of Clinical Pediatrics.

"Wheezing can be serious," says lead author Howard Eigen, MD, Indiana University School of Medicine and Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis, Indiana.

"A comprehensive review of clinical practice and peer-reviewed studies shows that the difficulty of accurate diagnosis is often underestimated by paediatricians, who may link it to a passing cold or other nonserious condition rather than relating it to asthma, a chronic and potentially serious disease."

Dr. Eigen notes in his study that early childhood asthma is often under-recognised and under-diagnosed because the symptoms can vary widely and are similar to other common childhood illnesses, including a nonspecific cough, flu, and bronchitis.

Establishing a diagnosis of asthma in young wheezing children also can be challenging for the physician, because the type, severity, and frequency of asthma symptoms vary widely among children and sometimes even with an individual child.

The paper reports that symptoms consistent with asthma in young children include:

· Recurrent wheeze associated with triggers such as viral infection or exercise

· Cough

· Chronic bronchitis

· Recurrent pneumonia

· Increased bronchial hyper-reactivity such as cough or wheeze with mild exercise

"These symptoms can also be symptoms of conditions other than asthma, so it is important for parents and paediatricians to assess the frequency and patterns of the symptoms, for example, if they are seasonal or perennial, if they are episodic versus continuous, or if there is a day versus night variation," says Dr. Eigen.

SOURCE: Indiana University

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