Wheezing is a frequent symptom in early infancy, but only some of these children may continue to have wheezing symptoms later in life, making diagnosis and therapy difficult. This review discusses new results in the epidemiology, diagnosis, assessment, and management of preschool-aged children with asthma. Male sex, a history of wheezing with lower respiratory tract infections, a history of parental asthma, atopic dermatitis, eosinophilia, early sensitivity to food or aeroallergens, or poorer lung function in infancy are the main features that define the childhood asthma-predictive phenotype. Preschool-aged asthmatics are classified as exacerbation prone with relatively minimal damage. In preschool-aged children, asthma is frequently diagnosed based on symptom patterns, the presence of risk factors, and treatment responses. Intermittent and daily inhaled corticosteroids, daily leukotriene-receptor antagonists, and, in rare circumstances, combination treatments are used to treat asthma.
Symptom patterns and risk factors are used to diagnose asthma in preschool-aged children, and the goals of asthma management are attained by working together with the family and the healthcare team to monitor symptom control and responsiveness to daily controller treatment.
