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.⁶² Blair's⁶² 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 hyperreactivity⁶³ 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.