Interstitial lung disease

• Diffuse disease of the lung parenchyma, characterized by chronic inflammation and/or progressive interstitial lung fibrosis
• Often leads to dyspnoea on exertion, dry cough, fine inspiratory crepitations on auscultation and abnormal CXR and CT scans
• Thought to be due to remodelling of the interstitium, chronic inflammation and/or hyperplasia of the type II epithelial cells/pneumocytes
• Causes:
  • Occupational or environmental exposures: asbestosis, berylliosis, silicosis, byssinosis (cotton worker’s lung)
  • Medications: nitrofurantoin, bleomycin, amiodarone, sulfasalazine, busulfan
  • Hypersensitivity reaction: hypersensitivity pneumonitis
  • Infections: TB, virus, fungi
  • Systemic disorders: sarcoidosis, rheumatoid arthritis, SLE, systemic sclerosis, autoimmune thyroid disease, ulcerative colitis
  • Idiopathic: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Reference: Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine (10th Edition)