Outcomes in pediatric asthma: What are the important issues?

Historic characteristics related to children and their parents remain the p rimary focus for diagnosis of asthma in the preschool-aged child. Important questions remain unanswered. Physicians must be better able to assess whet her asthma is present. They also need to better understand the genetics of asthma and allergy and to have access to simple, quantitative measurements of those environmental exposures that enhance the risk of allergy and asthm a, Physicians must also balance benefits and risks from any intervention, w hich is difficult because existing guidelines do not offer much information on the preschool-aged child. Although rpe are unable to prevent the develo pment of asthma and allergy, it is possible to help children and their fami lies control asthma.