The Asthma Predictive Index: A very useful tool for predicting asthma in young children

Recurrent wheezing is a common problem in young children: approximately 40% of children wheeze in their first year of life. However, only 30% of preschoolers with recurrent wheezing still have asthma at the age of 6 years. Nevertheless, asthma, the most prevalent chronic disease in children, is difficult to diagnose in infants and preschoolers. This article reviews the importance of determining at an early age which infants/preschoolers will have asthma later in life, analyzes the pros and cons of different predictive indices, and discusses the efficacy of the Asthma Predictive Index. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2010;126:212-6.)