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Treatment of Asthma in Children

  • Chapter
Bronchial Asthma

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Abstract

  • Regularly monitoring peak expiratory flow with peak flow meters is an important part of asthma treatment.

  • Immunotherapy can be beneficial in treating childhood asthma.

  • Anti-inflammatory therapy is the most important pharmacological intervention in treating childhood asthma.

  • Patient education is of utmost importance.

  • With proper anti-inflammatory medications and good patient education, children should be able to lead a normal life, including school attendance and sports.

  • With proper management of childhood asthma, we should be able to significantly decrease asthma mortality.

  • Environmental control should be incorporated into any asthma treatment strategy.

  • Passive exposure to cigarette smoke can negate the beneficial effects of pharmacological treatment of asthma.

  • A total asthma treatment plan should be customized for each asthma patient. This can lead to a decrease in both the indirect and direct costs of treating asthma, and can lead to a decrease in asthma hospitalizations and mortality.

  • Developing optimal technique in the use of metered dose inhalers in children under 12 is difficult. Ongoing instruction and review may be necessary to ensure good technique. Spacers can help as well.

  • Quality of life is an important issue in asthmatic children. Asthma in children should be managed with the goal towards optimizing quality of life.

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Authors
  1. Christopher Chang MD, PhD
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    M. Eric Gershwin MD  & Timothy E. Albertson MD, PHD  & 

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Chang, C. (2001). Treatment of Asthma in Children. In: Gershwin, M.E., Albertson, T.E. (eds) Bronchial Asthma. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-127-5_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-127-5_7

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-4687-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-127-5

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