Chronic interstitial lung diseases in pediatrics

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) in children includes a large spectrum of rare respiratory disorders that are mostly associated with high morbidity and mortality. These conditions are characterized by inflammatory and fibrotic changes that affect alveolar walls. Typical features of ILD include dyspnea, diffuse infiltrates on chest radiographs, and abnormal pulmonary function tests with restrictive ventilatory defect and final impaired gas exchanges. Diagnosis needs to be structured with a clinical evaluation requiring a careful history paying attention to exposures and systemic diseases, but is focused on the histopathologic evaluation of lungs.