[Lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia in Gougerot-Sjögren syndrome with scleroderma]

The authors report the case of a 70 year old woman with a 15 year history of the Gougerot-Sjogren syndrome, Raynaud's phenomenon and sclerodactyly. Progressive respiratory symptoms in this case were not due to pulmonary fibrosis secondary to scleroderma but to diffuse interstitial lymphocytic pneumonia (ILP) secondary to the Gougerot-Sjogren syndrome. The authors emphasize the diagnostic value of the significant, permanent lymphocytosis in the aspirate after broncho-alveolar lavage. The differential diagnosis is difficult because the radiological and clinical signs of pulmonary complications of the Gougerot-Sjogren syndrome and of scleroderma are very similar. Reports of the triple association of ILP-Gougerot-Sjogren syndrome-scleroderma are uncommon in the medical literature. However, prospective studies suggest that paraclinical stigmata of the Sjogren syndrome are relatively common in patients with scleroderma. These observations suggest that some patients with clinical "pulmonary fibrosis" may in fact have ILP secondary to slowly progressive Sjogren's syndrome.