Chicago—A new study underscores how differently children with asthma can respond to treatment, with some pediatric patients showing no improvement despite adherence to intensive, guideline-based treatment. The research, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, identified bronchodilator responsiveness, nasal inflammation, and allergy as significant baseline features that can distinguish hard-to-control asthma in inner-city children and adolescents. Those patients with difficult-to-control asthma also had exacerbations peaking in the spring and fall and more nighttime symptoms in the fall and winter, according to the Inner City Asthma Consortium study led by researchers from the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The study included 619 patients with asthma, aged 6 to 17 years, from nine urban communities across the country, representing mainly African American and Latino populations.

« Click here to return to The MTM Review.