Children’s Interstitial Lung Disease (chILD) Program
The Children’s Hospital Children’s Interstitial Lung Disease (chILD) Program is one of the leading referral centers in the world for children with these rare lung conditions. Research in our hospital and in national collaboration with other pediatric ILD centers has led to the recognition and understanding of many new ILD disorders in children.
Conditions We Treat
The Children’s Hospital chILD Program provides care for a broad range of disorders including:
Disorders More Prevalent in Infancy
- Diffuse developmental (abnormal lung formation) disorders
- Acinar/Alveolar Dysgenesis
- Congenital Alveolar Dysplasia
- Alveolar Capillary Dysplasia with Misalignment of Pulmonary Veins
- Growth Abnormalities
- Pulmonary hypoplasia
- Chronic neonatal lung disease
- Structural changes in chromosomal abnormalities
- Associated with congenital heart disease in chromosomally normal children
- Specific Conditions of Unknown or Poorly Understood Origin – The reasons that these conditions develop are currently unknown, but they have quite specific diagnostic criteria. While there may be genetic influences in their expression, other environmental influences also appear to play a role.
- Pulmonary Interstitial Glycogenosis (also known as infantile cellular interstitial pneumonitis or histiocytoid pneumonia)
- Primary
- Associated with other pulmonary conditions
- Neuroendocrine Cell Hyperplasia of Infancy (NEHI) (also known as Persistent Tachypnea of Infancy and Chronic Bronchiolitis)
- Surfactant Dysfunction Disorders and Related Abnormalities – Some of these disorders are more specific to infancy, while others have also been identified in older children and adults with a variety of clinical and lung tissue manifestations.
- Surfactant Dysfunction Disorders
- SpB genetic mutations
- SpC genetic mutations
- ABCA3 genetic mutations
- Congenital GMCSF receptor deficiency
- Others with histology consistent with surfactant dysfunction disorder without an as yet recognized genetic disorder
- Lysinuric protein intolerance
Disorders Associated with a Normal Immune System
- Infectious and post-infectious processes
- Chronic airway changes with and without preceding history of viral respiratory infection
- Bronchiolitis obliterans/organizing pneumonia (BOOP)
- Disorders related to environmental agents
- Hypersensitivity pneumonia (like birds or hot tubs)
- Toxic Inhalation
- Aspiration syndromes
- Eosinophilic pneumonias
- Acute interstitial pneumonia/Hamman-Rich syndrome/Idiopathic diffuse alveolar damage
- Nonspecific interstitial pneumonia
- Idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis (bleeding in the lung)
Disorders Related to Body-Wide Processes
- Immune-mediated Disorders
- Specific pulmonary manifestations
- Goodpasture’s syndrome
- Acquired pulmonary alveolar proteinosis/autoantibody to GMCSF
- Pulmonary vasculitis syndromes (like Lupus)
- Nonspecific pulmonary manifestations
- Nonspecific interstitial pneumonia
- Pulmonary hemorrhage syndromes
- Lymphoproliferative disease
- Organizing pneumonia
- Nonspecific airway changes including lymphocytic bronchiolitis, lymphoid hyeprplasia, and mild constrictive changes
- Other manifestations of collagen-vascular disease
- Storage Disease
- Sarcoidosis
- Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis
- Malignant Infiltrates
Disorders Associated with a Weakened Immune System
- Opportunistic infections
- Disorders related to therapeutic intervention – chemotherapeutic drug and radiation injury
- Chemotherapeutic drug injury
- Radiation injury
- Combined
- Drug hypersensitivity
- Disorders related to the solid organ, lung and bone marrow transplantation and rejection syndromes
- Rejection
- Graft verses host disease (GVHD )
- Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD)
- Diffuse Alveolar Damage (DAD) of undetermined cause
- Lymphoid infiltrates related to immune compromise (for non-transplanted patients)
- Nonspecific lymphoproliferation
- With lymphoid hyperplasia
- With poorly formed granulomas
- Malignant
Disorders that Resemble Interstitial Disease
- Arterial hypertensive vasculopathy
- Congestive vasculopathy including veno-occlusive disease
- Lymphatic disorders
- Lymphangiectasis
- Lymphangiomatosis
- Pulmonary edema
- Thromboembolic
Tests and Treatments
Our advanced medical equipment and state-of-the art hospital provide for diagnostic tests including:
Research
Our physicians are leaders in the National chILD Research Collaborative, which consists of pediatric lung, pathology and radiology specialists in North America who are committed to improving the care for children with these conditions. The Children’s Hospital chILD Program has advanced protocols in ILD for children related to CT scans, infant pulmonary function testing, bronchoscopy and lung biopsies when needed.
We also provide resources for healthcare professionals who diagnose and treat children’s ILD.
Multi-Disciplinary Team
Our multi-disciplinary care team of pediatric lung specialists, pathologists, radiologists, nutritionists, social workers and nurse specialists brings a wide range of experience and expertise. Our goal is to create the most individualized ILD care plan possible for your child and family.
Contact Us
For more information about The Children’s Hospital Children’s Interstitial Lung Disease (chILD) Program, please call (720) 777-6181.
Other Resources
For education and support for families affected by pediatric interstitial lung disease, visit the chILD Foundation website.
