[Pediatric pneumological aspects in the care of children with Down Syndrome].

Pulmonary problems are common in children with Downsyndrome/trisomy 21, alongside other health issues, but are often given too little attention. The aim of this review is to summarize these aspects for pediatric pulmonologists. Narrow nasal passages, a small pharynx and larynx, in combination with relative macroglossia, other airway malformations, and generalized muscular hypotonia, lead to glossoptosis, which in very young infants frequently causes obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. If left untreated, this is associated with impaired cognitive development. The children also suffer from chronic rhinitis. Together with recurrent silent aspirations resulting from the typical dysphagia of children with Trisomie 21 and immune dysregulation, lower respiratory tract infections are common and often severe. Viral infections caused by RSV, influenza, and SARS-CoV-2 more frequently lead to hospitalizations and have a much higher mortality rate than in healthy children. Children with Down syndrome are also more likely to develop chronic wheezing. The development of pulmonary hypertension may rarely occur even without an associated heart defect. This article summarizes the diagnostic and therapeutic tasks related to pulmonary problems in children with Down syndrome for the pediatric pulmonologist.