Childhood Asthma and Other Wheezing Disorders

This comprehensive account of the biological basis and clinical management of childhood asthma and other wheezing disorders brings together all the aspects necessary for full understanding by the trainee or practising respiratory physician, paediatrician, or specialist nurse of therapist. The text reviews the nature of childhood asthma, its developmental and biological origins and its impact both for the individual and for society. In each section the scientific background is brought together with comprehensive clinical information, reviewed where possible with an evidence base in mind, providing the reader with informed guidance to best practice. Thoroughly revised and updated throughout, this second edition reflects the significant developments that have occurred in the field during recent years. Advances in medical genetics are discussed, new techniques for investigation of inflammatory processes and for the evaluation of the impact of childhood asthma are described fully, additional information on the aetiology of this condition is provided and the pharmacology section includes a description of the leukotriene receptor agonists, the first novel drug therapy to emerge for 20 years. An entirely new section devoted to 'asthma around the world' including personal perspectives from clinicians from Japan, Africa, Latin America, and elsewhere has also been added. The book continues to place childhood asthma in a wider social context, with sections on teachning and training for health professionals outside the hospital setting and the delivery of care in the community. It remains essential reading for all paediatricians and respiratory physicians in training and in practice, and will also provide invaluable reference material for other health care professionals caring for babies, children and adolescents with asthma and wheezing disorders.