Astma hos hälften av förskolebarnen efter tidig svår bronkobstruktion. Samma frekvens nu som på 1980- och 1990-talen
Sammanfattning
In 2007 150 children < 18 months of age were hospitalized for the first time due to airway obstruction at the Department of Paediatrics, Central Hospital Borås, West
Sweden. Current wheeze was reported in 49 procent at a median age of 4.5 years in a follow-up of 144/150 children. Similar rates were reported from a nearby hospital in West
Sweden 25 years ago (47 procent) and in a Finnish study 13 years ago (50 procent). Children with obstructive episodes precipitated by airway infections only (episodic viral
wheeze) predominated. Subjects with multiple trigger wheeze required more medication. The use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) was common in both groups, which may reflect
the ten-fold prescription increase among children aged 0-5 years over the last twenty years in Sweden. The rate of preschool asthma after primary admission for airway
obstruction in infancy has not changed over the last decades. The benefit of ICS medication in this age group should be assessed regularly.