Childhood interstitial lung disease

Childhood interstitial lung disease, sometimes abbreviated as ChILD, is a family of rare chronic and complex disorders that affect the lungs of children.^[1] In the lungs, these disorders affect the interstitium, which is the space around the alveoli. The alveoli are the air sacs of the lungs.^[2] For these disorders, the alveoli are typically impaired by inflammatory and fibrotic changes which can lead to dyspnea, diffuse infiltrates on chest radiographs, and abnormal pulmonary function tests.^[3]

Not all types of interstitial lung disease that occur in adults occur also in children, and vice versa.^[4][5] The group of disorders is heterogenous, and there are different definitions of what exactly should be classed as a ChILD disorder.^[1]

Childhood interstitial lung disease is a serious condition, with high morbidity and mortality.^[6][4] People with ChILD are at a higher risk of developing pulmonary hypertension, and development of pulmonary hypertension is associated with poor survival rates.^[6]