Browsing by Author "Custovic, A."

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    Infantile and preschool asthma
    (2012) Castro-Rodriguez, J.A.; Rodriguez-Martinez, C.E.; Custovic, A.
    In infants and preschool children the symptoms suggestive of asthma (e.g. wheeze) may be a clinical expression of a number of diseases with different aetiologies. If this is true, then it is unlikely that these different diseases would respond to the same treatment. Consequently, implementation of a management strategy which is effective for each individual patient is challenging, and controversies remain with respect to which patients should be given anti-asthma treatment, and when the treatment should be started and for how long. Whilst acknowledging these uncertainties, practicing physicians may use the Asthma Predictive Index (API) as a guide in clinical practice to identify young children with recurrent wheezing who are at risk of the subsequent development of persistent asthma, and who may benefit from preventative anti-asthma medication. We acknowledge that a number of questions on the most appropriate management strategy remain unanswered, including which type of medication is the best for individual patients (e.g. short-acting beta-agonist versus inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) versus leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA)), dose (high versus low) and schedule (regular versus as needed).