Diffuse interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a general term encompassing a broad range of largely unrelated conditions which share the propensity to cause breathlessness and/or cough, while resulting in bilateral abnormal opacities of various types on conventional chest radiographs or computed tomography (CT) scans. The idiopathic interstitial pneumonias are a subset of diffuse ILDs characterized...

OBJECTIVES There are epidemiological studies indicating that exposure to metal fumes is a risk factor for infectious pneumonia. Whether occupational exposure to other agents, such as inorganic dust or chemicals, also increases the risk for infectious pneumonia is not clear. The aim of the present study was to elucidate whether occupational exposure to respiratory pollutants and irritants increa...

BACKGROUND In children with severe generalized cerebral palsy, pneumonias are a major health issue. Malnutrition, dysphagia, gastro-oesophageal reflux, impaired respiratory function and constipation are hypothesized risk factors. Still, no data are available on the relative contribution of these possible risk factors in the described population. This paper describes the initiation of a study in...