ABSTRACT
Childhood asthma presents a paradox (1). While there have been striking
advances in our basic understanding of the disease and in the development of effective clinical treatments (2-4), there has also been a substantial increase
in the burden of childhood asthma (5) at a time when the prevalence and
morbidity associated with many other childhood illnesses has been decreas-
ing. Although recent years have seen a fall in hospital admissions and a decline
in acute asthma consultations that may reflect improved treatment, asthma
control remains unsatisfactory for many (6) (Table 1) and the negative impact
on patients, their families, and societies remains enormous (7).
