Native children's lung.

A high proportion of Cree and other North American Indian children have a chronic cough and many have bronchial wall thickening on radiographs, reminiscent of white children with asthma, mild cystic fibrosis, or immune deficiency. When compared to postmortem studies, radiographs underestimate the degree of bronchial wall thickening present. As compared to white children, Indian children in the first two years of life are more susceptible to recurrent bronchitis and pneumonia, are much more likely to develop pneumonia with rubeola and pertussis, and are more likely to develop chronic lung disease after adenovirus infections. Staphylococcal complications with pneumatocele formation are more common. A greater number acquire pneumonia while in hospital with other medical or surgical problems. Indian children with pneumonia recover more slowly, and some continue to deteriorate even after admission to hospital.