Contemporary perspectives on pediatric diffuse lung disease.

It is much more challenging in children than in adults to obtain computed tomography images of the lung parenchyma at optimal lung volumes without motion artifact. Some of the more common forms of diffuse lung disease in adults rarely occur in children, and several forms of diffuse lung disease are unique to children. Recognition of these differences has led to the development of a new classification scheme for pediatric diffuse lung disease. Knowledge of this classification and recognition of characteristic imaging findings of specific disorders will lead to accurate diagnosis and guide appropriate treatment of children with diffuse lung disease.