Interstitial lung disease

Interstitial lung disease (ILD)–lesions of the pulmonary parenchyma, which are based on diffuse inflammatory lesions of the alveoli, distal bronchi and capillaries of the lungs with the outcome of fibrosis.

Interstitial lung diseases include more than 130 nosologies accompanying lung tissue damage. In most cases, at present, the causes of the occurrence and development of ISL remain unclear.

Only in a small group of ILS the cause of the disease is known:

• inhalation of inorganic chemicals, the smallest organic dust;
• the use of drugs that have a toxic effect on lung tissue: amiodarone, methotrexate, gold preparations, bleomycin, etc.;
• ISL on the background of sarcoidosis and hemosiderosis of the lungs;
• conducting radiotherapy (radiation therapy) in the mediastinum;
• ISL on the background of some rheumatic diseases (systemic scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosus, granulomatosis with polyangiitis, rheumatoid arthritis);
• ISL associated with liver diseases (primary biliary cirrhosis of the liver, hepatitis of various causes), intestines (ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease), malignant neoplasms.

The main clinical symptoms accompanying interstitial lung diseases are:

• shortness of breath, which is progressive;
• dry or unproductive cough.
• common symptoms, including: general weakness and fatigue, weight loss.

Sometimes at the beginning of the disease there is an increase in body temperature.

Some interstitial lung diseases have a reversible course and a relatively favorable prognosis, others quickly lead to disability and even death. Therefore, early diagnosis of diseases of this group is an important point in the timely start of treatment.

For the diagnosis of ISL, it is necessary to conduct the following studies:

• computed tomography of respiratory organs;
• bodyplethysmography with diffusion test;
• determination of the gas composition of arterial blood;
• diagnostic bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage;
• lung biopsies through the bronchial lumen during bronchoscopy (forceps biopsy, cryobiopsy, puncture fine-needle biopsy under ultrasound control);
• biopsy of lung tissue through the chest.

The most accurate diagnosis of ISL is possible only with a multidisciplinary approach, with the participation of specialists in radiation diagnostic methods, pulmonologists, endoscopists, morphologists.

The multidisciplinary scientific clinical center named after A.S. Loginov has all these capabilities.