[Diffuse infiltrative lung disease in scleroderma. Analysis of radio-clinical and functional semiology]

Scleroderma (SD) is a systemic disease that predominantly affects the skin. Diffuse infiltrative lung disease (DILD) is rare and occurs most often in the course of the disease. We analyzed seven cases of DILO of SD recorded between 2003 and 2010 among 196 PID (3.6%). Functional signs were limited to respiratory dyspnea, it was associated to dysphagia in six cases, dry syndrome in five cases and Raynaud's phenomenon in four cases. Clinical examination found crackles in the bases of the thorax in all cases and specific cutaneous signs in six cases. The chest radiograph showed that interstitial disease predominates at the lung bases in all cases with a large aspect of the pulmonary arteries in two cases. The chest CT scan confirmed the predominance of basal and peripheral damage with signs of fibrosis in six cases. The pulmonary function objectified a severe restrictive ventilatory defect in all cases. Bronchoscopy showed a normal macroscopic appearance in all cases, the broncho-alveolar lavage was predominated by neutrophilic formula in four cases. SCL 70 antibodies were positive in four cases. All patients were treated by steroids with improvement of dyspnea and stabilization of radiographs. A patient had died in an array of acute respiratory failure and one patient was lost to follow-up. DILD in scleroderma is rare and seldom reveals the disease, it affects the patient's prognosis especially when associated with arterial pulmonary hypertension.