Pharmacologic Treatment of Childhood Asthma

The goal of asthma treatment is to achieve and maintain clinical asthma control state and normal or near-normal lung function. Medications to treat asthma can be classified as controllers and relievers. Controller medications are taken daily on a long-term basis to keep asthma under clinical control, and reliever medications are used on an as-needed basis, which act quickly to reverse bronchoconstriction and relieve the asthma symptoms. Inhaled therapy is the cornerstone of asthma treatment for children of all ages, but the choice of medication should be individualized for each patient. The choice of medication should include consideration of the efficacy of drug delivery, cost, safety, ease of use, convenience, and documentation of its use in the patient's age group.