Purpose of review: Asthma guidelines recognize the presence of different asthma endotypes and phenotypes but treatment recommendations are limited to age groups rather than phenotypes, as the phenotype literature is regarded as emerging evidence. This review will examine the current evidence regarding the management of asthma in school age children (5-18 years old) by endotype and phenotype.
Recent findings: A number of studies have examined the effect of endotypes and phenotypes on response to conventional asthma therapy, omalizumab and specific allergen immunotherapy, and response in children with severe asthma. Emerging therapies, namely biologics and immunomodulators, have attracted considerable attention and appear to have favorable effects in adults with asthma, but additional pediatric studies are needed.
Summary: The optimal treatment strategy for children with asthma is not yet defined and likely dependent on many patient and disease characteristics. Much of the phenotypic response literature presented in this review was constrained by a limited number of pediatric and adult studies available and as such should be regarded as preliminary. Better definition of asthma phenotypes and better targeting of therapy based on individual patient phenotypes are likely to improve asthma treatment in the future.