[Bronchopneumopathies in children. Diagnostic criteria].

After reviewing the incidence and aetiology of the lower respiratory infections found among children, the problem of diagnosis is tackled in relation to phenomenology and laboratory contributions before a detailed examination of diagnostic radiology. It is emphasised that diagnosis, which has a direct influence on choice of treatment, is essentially based on epidemiological and clinical data for which radiological findings merely constitute a back-up, however valuable, except in special cases.