Asthma, inflammation, and airway hyperresponsiveness in children.

Consensus recommendations for the management of childhood asthma have focused on the inflammatory nature of the disease as the principal problem. Recent publications on both the pathogenesis and the treatment of childhood asthma confirmed this approach. Bronchoalveolar lavage studies showed elevated numbers of inflammatory cells in the airways of children with asthma. Long-term studies showed that anti-inflammatory therapy is superior to bronchodilators for improving pulmonary function and decreasing bronchial hyperreactivity. Previous suggestions that bronchodilator therapy may increase bronchial hyperreactivity have not been supported.