Lower airway diseases in childhood: a review with emphasis on X-ray signs

Lower airway diseases play an important role despite the most sophisticated therapeutic measures. Consequences of modern life, air pollution and many byproducts of our civilisation act in favour of airway diseases. Complicated is the problem by the changing symptoms, the changing virulence of the pathogenic microorganisms, by the unstable immune activity of the organism. Besides new syndromes are detected or separated from old diseases according to the development of the diagnostic tools. This paper reviews the actual situation of the subject.