Inhaled steroids compared with disodium cromoglycate in preschool children with episodic viral wheeze

Do inhaled steroids differ from cromones in terms of hospital admission rates for asthma in children?

“…The result is at odds with our earlier observations, which indicated that good symptom control, evaluated objectively by lung function measurements, could also be achieved by cromones in as many as 50 to 70% of children suffering from asthma (27). However, on closer examination, these results are not necessarily contradictory and, in fact, are in agreement with a study from Belgium (28). Although there was no significant difference in bronchial responsiveness between children treated with disodium cromoglycate and beclomethasone dipropionate, inhaled steroid therapy was superior to cromoglycate in the prevention of virus-induced wheezing in preschool children with asthma.…”

The transient value of classifying preschool wheeze into episodic viral wheeze and multiple trigger wheeze

“…Preschool recurrent wheeze is very common, with a cumulative prevalence of up to 40% during the first 6 years of life (1). Different phenotypes of recurrent wheezing have been recognized in this age group and various labels have come into widespread use (2–6). The European Respiratory Society Task Force on Preschool Wheeze has recently published a report (7) recommending that preschool children with wheezing disorders should be classified as episodic (viral) wheeze (EVW) and multiple trigger wheeze (MTW).…”