PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Ben D. Spycher AU - Jonathan A.C. Sterne AU - Raquel Granell AU - Michael Silverman AU - AniƱa M. Pescatore AU - Erol E. Gaillard AU - John Henderson AU - Claudie E. Kuehni TI - Multiple trigger and episodic viral wheeze in early childhood: Are these phenotypes stable over time? DP - 2012 Sep 01 TA - European Respiratory Journal PG - 2847 VI - 40 IP - Suppl 56 4099 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/2847.short 4100 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/2847.full SO - Eur Respir J2012 Sep 01; 40 AB - AimIn young children with wheeze it is common to distinguish between those who wheeze only during respiratory tract infections (episodic viral wheeze, EVW) and those who also wheeze due to other factors (multiple trigger wheeze, MTW). The stability of this classification has recently been questioned. In two population based cohort studies, we compared the prevalence and stability of these phenotypes in early childhood.MethodsWe included 14062 children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) and 4300 from the Leicester Respiratory Cohorts (LRC). Mothers received postal questionnaires including questions on wheeze and triggers of episodes in past 12 months when children were aged 2, 4 and 6yrs.ResultsBetween ages 2 and 6yrs, prevalence of current wheeze decreased from 18 to 10% in ALSPAC and from 23 to 16% in LRC. Among children with wheeze the proportion of those with MTW as opposed to EVW increased from 55% (both cohorts) to 70% (ALSPAC) and 74% (LRC). Among children with EVW who wheezed again 2yrs later, a considerable proportion were reclassified as MTW in both cohorts (Tables). There was less reclassification from MTW to EVW.View this table:View this table:ConclusionThe phenotypes EVW and MTW show limited stability through early childhood suggesting that triggers of wheeze alone are not sufficient to distinguish underlying disease processes, or that the disease processes change in some children throughout this period.FundingBDS is recipient of a ERS/Marie Curie Joint Research Fellowship (MC 1614-2010).