The South African Childhood Asthma Working Group, a sub-committee of the Allergy Society of South Africa (ALLSA), recently updated the guidelines for the management of chronic asthma in children and adolescents.

A number of key changes in the diagnostic criteria, particularly in young children, assessment of asthma control, management principles, new drugs, new drug-delivery devices and assessment of asthma control and risk, since it was last updated in 2009.

A summary of the guidelines was published in the SAMJ.