First report of the Italian register for diffuse infiltrative lung disorders (RIPID)

Area of Science:

• Pulmonology
• Epidemiology
• Radiology

Background:

• Established in 1998, the Italian Register of Diffuse Infiltrative Lung Disorders (RIPID) is a collaborative project by major Italian Respiratory Medicine societies.
• The primary goal is to create a comprehensive Italian registry for diffuse infiltrative lung disorders to facilitate robust epidemiological and clinical research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a national registry for diffuse infiltrative lung disorders in Italy.
• To gather epidemiological and clinical data for future research on these conditions.

Main Methods:

• Data collection from May 1998 to December 2000, involving 1,382 cases from 54 centers across 15 Italian regions.
• Utilized high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) for diagnosis in 74.4% of cases.
• Included diagnostic procedures such as transbronchial biopsies (39.4%), bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) (39.2%), and surgical biopsies (20.5%).

Main Results:

• A total of 1,382 patients were registered, with a slight male predominance (54.2%).
• Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis was the most frequent diagnosis (37.6%), followed by sarcoidosis (29.2%) and Langherans' cell histiocytosis (6.6%).
• Smoking habits varied: 18% current smokers, 26% former smokers, and 56% never-smokers.

Conclusions:

• The RIPID project successfully established a foundational registry for diffuse infiltrative lung disorders in Italy.
• The data collected provide a basis for future epidemiological and clinical studies, with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis identified as a key area of focus.
• A dedicated website (www.pneumonet.it/ripid) was launched in December 2000 for data access and online submission, enhancing project accessibility.