Asthma in South African children : reflection on new recommendations for care

Abstract

The South African Childhood Asthma Working Group (SACAWG), a subcommittee of the Allergy Society of South Africa (ALLSA), published the first national asthma guidelines for children in 1992. Since then, the understanding of asthma and management strategies have evolved considerably. Asthma is now considered to be a spectrum of illness, reflecting different underlying inflammatory and airway processes. Over the past two decades, the importance of airway inflammation underlying asthma pathogenesis (rather than bronchoconstriction) has been recognised, with guidelines increasingly focused on effectively controlling chronic asthma symptoms, as well as preventing acute exacerbations through inhaled therapy.