[Chronic respiratory pathology in the child: overview of 10 years of multidisciplinary management in a pediatric medical center].

Certain children presenting chronic pulmonary diseases, severe or relapsing, aggravated by unfavourable psychosocial factors are hospitalised in a repetitive manner. To try to help these children, we created a project for a family, school and social reintegration. We developed a program which by its multidisciplinary integrated approach tries to get the family to accept the illness and its constraints, to decrease the factors which lead to chronicisation or aggravation of the symptomatology. Right after the admission, a complete evaluation of the situation is performed according to three main axes: medical evaluation, family evaluation and individual evaluation. Two hundred and twenty five children aged between 2 months and 14 years have been admitted between October 92 and December 02. The treatment lasted between 2 and 24 months. The results evaluated at mid term after discharge show a globally favourable evolution for the majority of children. There is an improvement in the pulmonary status, the frequency of rehospitalizations or the length of institutional placement and a diminution of school absences. The improvement appears however quite precarious as the family's defaults need a major outpatient support system. The positive factors for a good prognosis are: approach integrating the medical, psychological and environmental aspects; multidisciplinary diagnosis which allows to identify the problematic and to provide the most adequate help without multiplying too much the interventions; health education in order to lead to autonomy for medical treatment; social work started at the entrance which sets the bases for the creation of a support network; family therapy often necessary for these very dysfunctional families.