Update in paediatric asthma

Abstract

Purpose of review: The field of paediatric asthma is rapidly moving, with the advent of new biologicals for severe asthma and increased understanding of preschool wheeze amongst other developments and insights.

Recent findings: There is increasing evidence of efficacy in children for biologics directed against Type 2 inflammation (especially mepolizumab and dupilumab) as well encouraging evidence that Tezepelumab may be effective against Type 2 low phenotypes. The importance of airway remodelling and infection in the pathophysiology of preschool wheeze is increasingly appreciated. The treatment of preschool wheeze is moving from symptom-based to biomarker driven therapies. Other important areas are prediction of risk of asthma attacks, the SMART regime, the importance of climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from inhalers while ensuring adequate therapy for young children, the association of early adverse environmental factors including childhood poverty and deprivation and the switch to race-neutral lung function equations.

Summary: We are increasingly moving towards personalized medicine and the use of biomarkers to guide treatment of wheeze at all ages, but we need to move from counting cells to determining their functional status. Airway wall structural changes rather than inflammation may drive the progression of preschool wheeze to school age asthma.