[Follow-up of children less than five years of age suffering from respiratory diseases: literature review].

Study of a descriptive nature, aiming at identifying publications related to respiratory diseases in children aged less than five years, in national and international periodicals and in some textbooks, from 1990 through 2002, and identifying the ones which describe respiratory diseases over the course of children's growth and development. Twenty-seven works were analyzed. Some features are presented referring to quantity of authors published, language of publication, and methodological as well as thematic aspects: respiratory diseases in children, their determiners and risk factors; use of health services for children suffering from respiratory problems; follow-up and respiratory diseases in childhood.