Richtlijn ‘Astma bij kinderen (0-19 jaar)’ voor de jeugdgezondheidszorg

Conflict of interest: there are interests declared (www.ntvg.nl, A5204). Financial support: TNO, the institute where all authors are employed, received a subsidy from the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) to draft the guidelines.

• The objective of the evidence-based guidelines ‘Asthma in children (ages 0-19)’ for youth healthcare (CHC) is the prevention and reduction of asthma symptoms. The guidelines contain a lot of recommendations that apply to all disciplines in healthcare that deal with children.

• Primary prevention (preventing asthma): the main proven effective intervention is no smoking, neither passive nor active. Breastfeeding has a small protective effect. Starting at the first home visit at two weeks, the CHC nurse advises no smoking and to breastfeed.

• Secondary prevention (early detection): at all routine check-ups, the professional at CHC should inquire about signs of dyspnoea and wheezing. Patients suspected of having asthma should be referred to the GP.

• Tertiary prevention (reducing symptoms in children with asthma): the main advice is no smoking (neither passive nor active) and to follow the advice of the treating physician.