Management of Wheezing in Preschool Children

Diagnosis and management of asthma in preschool children are challenging. The Expert Panel Report 3 has recommendations for specific illness phenotypes to start long-term controller medication to reduce risk and impairment in children ages 0-4-year old. The use of daily-inhaled corticosteroids has shown to be effective in preschool children with persistent asthma, but there are also reports of growth retardation. For children with recurrent or intermittent wheezing without symptoms in between episodes, the intermittent use of controller medications may be an option for certain phenotypes. This review will discuss the available data on use of intermittent controller medications in preschool children with wheezing.