Postgraduate course presentation. Infantile bronchial asthma.

There is no evidence that any type of therapy, including hyposensitization therapy, will directly influence prognosis. The long-term prognosis of childhood asthma is less optimistic than previously believed. Approximately 30% of the patients who become symptom-free in adolescence relapse and become symptomatic in early adulthood. Blair's recent 20-yr follow-up report on 267 childhood asthmatics revealed that only 50% had become almost or completely symptom-free. Moreover, there is evidence that 60% of those who become symptom-free still demonstrate bronchial hyperreactivity and are liable to wheeze again if challenged with an appropriate stimuli. Therefore, the dictum that most children "outgrow" their asthma is incorrect and a more likely explanation is that most childhood asthmatics "outgrow" their pediatricians.