Childhood asthma can be difficult to navigate through. It can lead to wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing and chest tightness and pain. While through invasive techniques, childhood asthma can be diagnosed, according to a recent study, the diagnosis can get lot easier.
A recent study led by Dr. Juan Celedón, University of Pittsburgh states the possibilities of a non-invasive procedure that can help physicians to diagnose the different subtypes of childhood asthma. Also read | Kids with asthma may benefit by moving from troubled areas to better surroundings, says new study Till now, bronchoscopy involving application of general anesthesia and collecting lung tissue samples was used by physicians to understand the subtypes of childhood asthma.
However, given the limitations, physicians often relied on blood tests and allergy screenings which are less accurate methods. This further affected the treatment procedures. Senior author Dr.
Juan Celedón, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh and chief of pulmonary medicine at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, in a statement, said, “Because asthma is a highly variable disease with different endotypes, which are driven by different immune cells and respond differently to treatments, the first step toward better therapies is accurate diagnosis of endotype.” Also read | Asthma in kids: Know the symptoms and how the lung disease affects children Findings of the study: The researchers identified three s.
