Childhood interstitial lung disease

ABSTRACT
Childhood interstitial lung disease (chILD) is a non-specific umbrella term encompassing a broad spectrum of over 200 rare respiratory pediatric disorders. These disorders mainly affect the lung parenchyma leading to impaired alveolar gas exchange.
The clinical presentation is usually non-specific. Most commonly, patients present with tachy-/dyspnea, crackles, hypoxemia, and/or dry cough. Clinicians should be familiar with these disorders as they are associated with high morbidity, mortality, healthcare resource utilization as well as medical costs.
Different diagnostic tools are available, while treatment options are limited. Growing data and knowledge of pathogenetic genetic variants as well as pathophysiological models increase therapeutic options for personalized treatments in chILD.

IMPACT STATEMENT
chILD is a large group of rare, chronic and complex disorders of variable pathology. This brief review highlights current knowledge in the field of chILD to assist clinicians with diagnostic approach and guide their treatment decisions.

Received: June 20, 2024
Accepted: Oct 01, 2024
Published: Dec 01, 2024