title: [Lung diseases in children].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lung diseases belong to the most common acute and chronic childhood diseases. With specific diagnostics and therapy the outcome of many congenital and acquired pulmonary diseases in children and adults can be substantially improved.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this review is the presentation and evaluation of important lung diseases in children taking recent developments into consideration.
  
  
  METHODS
  This article presents a review of the literature on selected acute and chronic lung diseases in children and adolescents.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Acute pneumonia remains one of the most frequent causes of mortality in children worldwide. Antibiotic treatment has reduced the morbidity and mortality in Western industrialized countries; however, the treatment of complications, such as pleural empyema and lung abscesses remains challenging. With a prevalence of 10 %, asthma has evolved into the most common chronic disease in children and adolescents in Germany. Using anti-inflammatory inhalation therapy, effective control of asthma symptoms can be achieved in most patients. Cystic fibrosis (CF) remains the most common fatal inherited disease among Caucasians. More than 90 % of the mortality and morbidity of CF are caused by an early onset and progressive chronic obstructive lung disease. Approval of the first causal mutation-specific pharmacotherapy for a subgroup of patients with CF represents a milestone in individualized therapy of lung diseases. The pathogenesis of other rare chronic lung diseases including interstitial lung diseases (ILD) is still mostly unknown.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Continuous improvement in the diagnostics and therapy is crucial to further improve the management and outcome of acute and chronic lung diseases in children. Pediatric pulmonology, as an interdisciplinary subspecialty at the interface of pediatrics, pulmonology and infectious diseases, plays a key role in the translation of scientific progress into clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Sektion Pädiatrische Pneumologie & Allergologie und Mukoviszidose-Zentrum, Klinik III, Zentrum für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 430, 69120, Heidelberg, Deutschland, olaf.sommerburg@med.uni-heidelberg.de.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sommerburg
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Schenk
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mall
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D019141:Respiratory System Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D019141:Respiratory System Agents