Is childhood pneumonia an unrecognised presentation of asthma?

Personal experience suggests that some children presenting with pneumonia may have undiagnosed asthma. To determine the frequency with which asthma is diagnosed following pneumonia. Retrospective review of the hospital records of 99 children, aged under 17 years, admitted to hospital with pneumonia. Twenty eight per cent of the children were asthmatic; one third of these (i.e. nine per cent of patients) were newly diagnosed in the six weeks following discharge. Asthmatics were older than the non-asthmatics presenting with pneumonia, and were more likely to have a family history of asthma or personal history of atopy. Routine follow-up of children admitted with pneumonia can identify new cases of asthma and a high index of suspicion is recommended.