1 Department of Pediatrics, University of Vermont College of Medicine 150 Kennedy Drive South Burlington, VT 05401
In the current issue of Pediatrics (page 1061), Leffert elegantly reviews the theories of asthma pathogenesis, while identifying areas of our continued ignorance. He also calls for pediatricians to assume a more central role in the management of this condition rather than resort to the traditional, often near automatic practice of referring and deferring to allergists. It would be a pity to obscure the important theme of Leffert's article by an intramural fight for "turf" between pediatricians and allergists.
The noteworthy points of Leffert's article are: (1) Not all asthma is due to allergy. (2) Dramatic developments in asthma therapy have taken place in recent years.1-4