Diagnosing asthma in young children

Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Mercedes C Amado, Jay M Portnoy

Abstract

Asthma is defined by the 1997 National Asthma Education and Prevention Program guideline as a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways which leads to an increase in bronchial hyperresponsiveness to a variety of stimuli or triggers. Since it is difficult to determine whether an individual patient has the above pathophysiology, particularly in young children, it is essential that clinically useful criteria be identified that can serve as proxies for the presence of asthma. There are three reasons for making a diagnosis: to identify the most effective treatment to alleviate symptoms and prevent mortality; to educate the parent or primary caregiver to manage symptoms and avoid triggers; and to estimate the prognosis. A diagnostic test is a procedure which gives a rapid, convenient and inexpensive indication of whether a patient has a certain disease. The likelihood ratio incorporates both the sensitivity and specificity of the test and provides a direct estimate of how much a test result will change the odds of having a disease. By applying the principles of evidence-based medicine to define likelihood ratios for each criterion, it should be possible to define the probability of asthma and to identify the best treatment. Future...Continue Reading

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Citations

May 13, 2009·Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners·Barbara Watts
Jun 5, 2014·The Journal of Asthma : Official Journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma·Adeel Ahmed KhanZafar Fatmi
Nov 24, 2011·Journal of the American Chemical Society·Jia LiuLi-Jun Wan
Apr 10, 2009·Pediatric Annals·Candace RamosJay M Portnoy
Feb 21, 2014·Indian Journal of Pediatrics·Monil Bharat ShahJigna Dave
Jul 15, 2021·Methods of Information in Medicine·Mindy K RossAlex A T Bui

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