title: Severe asthma in childhood: diagnostic and management challenges.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Problematic severe asthma is a heterogeneous disease with multiple phenotypes. It is rare (<5% of children with asthma), but accounts for 30-50% of all pediatric asthma healthcare costs. This review looks into the currently used management strategies and the innovative treatments, considering both conventional medications and innovative biological therapies for targeting airway inflammation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with problematic severe asthma should be seen by pediatric asthma specialists using a stepwise approach. The first step is to exclude alternative diagnoses; the second is to consider and exclude comorbidities, and assess adherence to medication; the third step involves identifying the pattern of inflammation; and response to treatment in the fourth. Innovative biological therapies are emerging and healthcare professionals should know how to handle them. Patient phenotyping is the main step towards a targeted therapeutic strategy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A careful management is important for children with severe asthma, who form a small but challenging group of patients. More research efforts are needed to enable a personalized medicine and a biomarker-driven approach.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Respiratory Medicine and Allergy Unit, Women's and Children's Health Department, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bozzetto
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carraro
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zanconato
authors.forename: Eugenio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Baraldi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism / Q000652:urine; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D015897:Comorbidity; D017281:Cost of Illness; D006801:Humans; D009330:Nebulizers and Vaporizers; D010641:Phenotype; D057285:Precision Medicine; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016903:Drug Monitoring
chemical_list: D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents; D015415:Biomarkers