To investigate the effect of early and short course administration of oral prednisone in the treatment of cough variant asthma (CVA) in children on the therapeutic effect. The incidence of childhood asthma is on the rise worldwide and has attracted widespread attention.CVA is a specific form of childhood asthma. We randomly divided 78 children with CVA into two groups: 40 cases in the treatment group were given oral prednisone (1 mg/kg/d) and 38 cases in the control group. There were no statistically significant differences in age, sex, condition and duration of disease between the two groups. All cases were given conventional treatment, including: (1) Inhaled glucocorticoids, alone after proper counseling in children over 6 years of age, plus cartridge inhalation relief in children under 6 years of age, at a dosage of 250-375 μg/d -1. (2) β2 agonists were given as needed and discontinued as soon as clinical symptoms resolved, up to 7 days. (3) Anti-infection treatment is given to those with infection. On the basis of the above treatment, children in the treatment group were given oral prednisone 1 mg/kg/d at the beginning of treatment, divided into two to three oral doses, for 3 days. The relief of cough (including morning cough, nocturnal cough and post-exercise cough) and the duration of relief were observed in both groups and evaluated as follows: (1) Clinically controlled: cough disappeared, no nocturnal or post-activity symptoms, no restriction on exercise; (2) Significantly effective: cough significantly reduced, no nocturnal or post-activity symptoms, cough still present after exercise; (3) Improved: cough reduced, occasional nocturnal and post-activity symptoms, cough increased after exercise; (4) Improved: cough reduced, occasional nocturnal and post-activity symptoms, cough increased after exercise (4) Ineffective: no reduction in cough, or even recurrent worsening of cough, with nocturnal and post-activity symptoms and restricted movement.