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Pediatric Asthma

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Airway diseases

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Abstract

Asthma is a common and heterogeneous illness, generally characterized by chronic airway inflammation defined by the history of respiratory symptoms like wheezing, breathless, and cough, along with variable expiratory airflow limitation. The diagnosis is mainly clinical with no gold standard diagnostic criteria. Spirometry is the exploration of choice for documentation of airflow obstruction. As it can vary between completely normal and severely obstructed, a normal lung function test does not exclude asthma. For each patient, asthma should be assessed depending on asthma management, related with symptom burden and poor quality of life. After assessing symptom control, future risk of adverse results should be assessed. The aims of asthma management are to control respiratory symptoms and continue normal activity level. The level of symptom intensity and risk factors including pulmonary functions are recorded, initial controller treatment can be started, and correct inhaler technique should be shown. All parents should be educated and have a written action plan; and a stepwise treatment approach is advised based on symptoms and response to initial treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine, Division of Pediatric Pulmonology, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Muruvvet Yanaz & Bulent Karadag

  2. Faculty of Medicine, Athens Pediatric Center, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Kostas Priftis

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  1. Muruvvet Yanaz
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  2. Bulent Karadag
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  3. Kostas Priftis
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Türkiye

    Cemal Cingi

  2. Department of Pulmonology, Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Türkiye

    Arzu Yorgancıoğlu

  3. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye

    Nuray Bayar Muluk

  4. Federal University of Bahia School of Medicine and ProAR Foundation, Salvador - Bahia, Brazil

    Alvaro A. Cruz

Section Editor information

  1. Pediatric Pulmonology, Marmara University Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Türkiye

    Bulent Karadag

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Yanaz, M., Karadag, B., Priftis, K. (2023). Pediatric Asthma. In: Cingi, C., Yorgancıoğlu, A., Bayar Muluk, N., Cruz, A.A. (eds) Airway diseases. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22483-6_104-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22483-6_104-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-22482-9

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