Clinics in chest medicine
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Clinics in chest medicine · Mar 2012
ReviewInterstitial lung disease in the connective tissue diseases.
The connective tissue diseases (CTDs) are inflammatory, immune-mediated disorders in which interstitial lung disease (ILD) is common and clinically important. Interstitial lung disease may be the first manifestation of a CTD in a previously healthy patient. ⋯ A diagnosis of idiopathic ILD should never be made without a careful search for subtle evidence of underlying CTD. Treatment of CTD-ILD typically includes corticosteroids and immunosuppressive agents.
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Clinics in chest medicine · Mar 2012
ReviewRadiological approach to interstitial lung disease: a guide for the nonradiologist.
Articles in the past have described the radiological appearances of different interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) in varying levels of detail. However, these articles have generally been written for radiologists with a background in basic chest computed tomography (CT) interpretation. This article summarizes a basic approach for diagnosing ILDs on high-resolution CT (HRCT) for the nonradiologist clinician and discusses the most common HRCT features of common ILDs.
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For selected parenchymal lung disease patients who fail to respond to medical therapy and demonstrate declines in function that place them at increased risk for mortality, lung transplantation should be considered. Lung transplantation remains a complex medical intervention that requires a dedicated recipient and medical team. Despite the challenges, lung transplantation affords appropriate patients a reasonable chance at increased survival and improved quality of life. Lung transplantation remains an appropriate therapeutic option for selected patients with parenchymal lung disease.
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Clinics in chest medicine · Mar 2012
ReviewIdiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: diagnosis and epidemiology.
In 2000, the American Thoracic Society and European Respiratory Society published the first consensus statement providing guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). This statement presented, for the first time, diagnostic criteria for IPF and recommendations for treatment. ⋯ Meanwhile, several epidemiologic studies have yielded data that identify potential risk factors and that better define the societal burden of IPF. This article summarizes the approach to diagnosing IPF and reviews epidemiologic data on IPF.