- Patients were included if they (a) were satisfying the above-mentioned diagnostic criteria with pediatric asthma and cough variation asthma, (b) aged 3-12 years, and (c) were with pattern of phlegm-heat obstruction and cold fluid-retention in lungs at the acute stage, or with pattern of lung-spleen deficiency and kidneyQideficiency at the remission stage of asthma based on traditional chinese medicine syndrome differentiation diagnosis.