Airway involvement in interstitial lung disease

Area of Science:

• Pulmonology
• Respiratory Medicine
• Pathology

Background:

• Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) encompass a diverse group of diffuse parenchymal lung disorders.
• Airway involvement is increasingly recognized as a significant feature in various ILDs.
• Understanding the interplay between airway pathology and interstitial damage is crucial for accurate diagnosis and management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current approaches to assessing airway involvement in ILDs.
• To introduce and detail novel proposed entities characterized by combined airway and interstitial lung damage.
• To discuss the diagnostic implications and differential diagnoses of these new patterns.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of recent studies on ILDs and airway involvement.
• Discussion of diagnostic methodologies for airway assessment in ILDs.
• Analysis of proposed new entities based on pathological findings.

Main Results:

• Several approaches to evaluating airway involvement in ILDs are presented.
• New entities, specifically airway-centered interstitial fibrosis and acute fibrinous organizing pneumonia, are described.
• These patterns represent a combination of airway and interstitial lung damage.

Conclusions:

• Airway-centered interstitial fibrosis and acute fibrinous organizing pneumonia may represent distinct ILD entities.
• These conditions expand the spectrum of known interstitial lung diseases.
• Diagnosis should be considered in cases with concurrent airway and interstitial lung abnormalities.