title: Acute asthma exacerbations in childhood: risk factors, prevention and treatment.
abstract: Asthma is a heterogeneous disease more appropriately seen as a syndrome rather than a single pathologic entity. Although it can remain quiescent for extended time periods, the inflammatory and remodeling processes affect the bronchial milieu and predispose to acute and occasionally severe clinical manifestations. The complexity underlying these episodes is enhanced during childhood, an era of ongoing alterations and maturation of key biological systems. In this review, the authors focus on such sudden-onset events, emphasizing on their diversity on the basis of the numerous asthma phenotypes.
authors.affiliation: Allergy Unit D. Kalogeromitros, Attikon University Hospital, University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: George V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Guibas
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Makris
authors.forename: Nikolaos G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Papadopoulos
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects; D000485:Allergens / Q000009:adverse effects; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001249:Asthma / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D018680:Cholinergic Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003139:Common Cold / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D061148:Hygiene Hypothesis; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications; D010641:Phenotype; D018357:Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections / Q000150:complications; D012229:Rhinovirus; D012307:Risk Factors; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D000485:Allergens; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents; D018680:Cholinergic Antagonists; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution