Case records of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Case 3-2007. A 3-year-old boy with recurrent episodes of respiratory insufficiency

Interstitial Lung Disease in Children Older Than 2 Years

The spectrum of childhood interstitial lung diseases (chILD) encompasses a group of heterogeneous, rare disorders in children characterized by diffuse pulmonary infiltrates and disordered gas exchange. Whereas the disorders that present in early life are unique to children, those that present in older children are also seen in adults. This review will concentrate on chILD presenting in children older than 2 years of age with a focus on the idiopathic interstitial pneumonias, connective tissue diseases, alveolar hemorrhage, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis. A systematic approach to diagnosis that includes a careful history and physical, computed tomography of the chest, bronchoalveolar lavage, and lung biopsy can be very helpful in establishing the correct diagnosis. Treatment approaches are described, including general supportive measures, indications for a trial of systemic corticosteroids, or other immunomodulating therapies, and when lung transplantation reserved for those with end-stage lung disease should be considered.

Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage syndromes in children

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

In this review we discuss the changing concepts of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage in children in terms of an expanded differential diagnosis and new approaches to diagnosis and treatment.

RECENT FINDINGS

More commonly found in adults, pulmonary capillaritis, an immune-mediated form of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage often associated with systemic disease, has been recently reported in children. In a series of eight children with pulmonary capillaritis, serology for immune-mediated disorders was positive in only half. Acute idiopathic pulmonary hemorrhage is a unique condition of infants who present with acute pulmonary hemorrhage and respiratory failure. The hypothesis that acute idiopathic pulmonary hemorrhage is caused by toxigenic mold has not been proven, and its cause remains uncertain.

SUMMARY

Classification of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage in children has been revised to include those conditions with and without pulmonary capillaritis. As idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis, the classic form of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage in children, is a diagnosis of exclusion and children with pulmonary capillaritis may have negative serology, lung biopsy should be strongly considered in any child with diffuse alveolar hemorrhage without a cardiovascular cause. Generally, patients with immune-mediated lung disease require more aggressive pharmacologic intervention.