The Role of the Microbiome in Pediatric Respiratory Diseases

Abstract

Numerous studies have examined the role of the microbiome and microbiome-based therapeutics in many childhood airway and lung diseases. In this narrative review, the authors first give a brief overview of the current methods used in microbiome research. The authors then review the literature linking the microbiome with (1) early-life acute respiratory infections due to respiratory syncytial virus, (2) childhood asthma onset, (3) cystic fibrosis, and (4) bronchopulmonary dysplasia, focusing on recent studies that have used culture-independent methods to characterize the respiratory or gut microbiome in the pediatric population.

Keywords: Asthma; Bronchopulmonary dysplasia; Children; Chronic lung disease of prematurity; Cystic fibrosis; Microbiome; Pediatrics; Respiratory syncytial virus.