Table 3.

Severity and initiating treatment: children 5–11 years

Severity category	Days and night with symptoms	Pulmonary function	Preferred treatment
Intermittent	≤ 2 days/week (days) ≤ 2 nights/month (nights)	FEV1: > 80 % FEV1/FVC: > 85 %	Step1: SABA PRN
Mild persistent	3–6 days/week (days) 3–4 nights/month (nights)	FEV1: > 80 % FEV1/FVC: > 80 %	Step 2: Low-dose ICS
Moderate persistent	Daily (days)>1 night/week (nights)	FEV1: 60–80 % FEV1/FVC: 75–80 %	Step 3: Medium-dose ICS and consider short-course OCS
Severe persistent	Throughout (days) Often (nights)	FEV1: < 60 % FEV1/FVC: < 75 %	Step 4: Medium-dose ICS + LABA and consider short-course OCS

OCS oral corticosteroids, LABA long-acting beta2 agonist, SABA short-acting beta2 agonist, FEV1 forced expiratory volume in 1 s, FVC forced vital capacity, ICS inhaled corticosteroid