Respiratory diseases have traditionally been one of the important topics in paediatric care. Acute illnesses are usually treated by a paediatric general practitioner or inpatient wards of paediatric departments at various levels of general and specialised care.
The situation is different for chronic diseases or for chronic consequences of respiratory pathologies of various aetiologies. Such conditions usually need to be moni-tored in departments with more experience and with additional technical and personnel equipment.
As is the case in other paediatric specialisations, paediatric pulmonology is an important extension specialisation that requires specialised education and qualification. Specialised care for respiratory diseases has a significant tradition in the Czech and Slovak Republics.
The current generation of paediatric pulmonologists certainly has something to build on and significantly develops the tradition of paediatric respiratory care based on what the founders introduced many years ago.