Indicateurs prédictifs dans l’asthme de l’enfant

Abstract: Asthma is a chronic condition which is seen frequently in pediatrics. Development of predictors of occurrence, eventual worsening and of the evolution of the condition could improve the overall prognosis. This literature review covers recent advances on this subject. Among the risk factors, perinatal conditions such as prematurity play an important role. The occurrence of respiratory infections in the infant constitutes a key step in the initiation of the bronchial inflammatory process. The social milieu and the environment are clearly contributing factors. Atopy is an essential element in the development of chronic asthma. It worsens the prognosis in certain cases and can be responsible for fatal outcomes. Progress in genetics, especially concerning single nucleotide polymorphisms, which is to say localized amino acid mutations, sheds light on the major role of a genetic factor in certain special cases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]