scholarly journals Rituximab in the Treatment of Interstitial Lung Disease Associated with Autoimmune Diseases: Experience from a Single Referral Center and Literature Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 3070
Author(s):  
Belén Atienza-Mateo ◽  
Sara Remuzgo-Martínez ◽  
Diana Prieto-Peña ◽  
Víctor Manuel Mora Cuesta ◽  
David Iturbe-Fernández ◽  
...  

In the present study, we aimed to report our experience with rituximab (RTX) in the treatment of patients with ILD associated with AD (AD-ILD) at a single center. For this purpose, clinical characteristics, radiological findings, and pulmonary function tests (PFTs) of RTX-treated AD-ILD-patients seen from May 2016 until March 2020 at a referral center for individuals with ILD were retrospectively reviewed. Additionally, an updated literature review was conducted. A total of 26 patients (mean age 58.3 ± 11.1 years at ILD diagnosis) was included. The most common ADs related to ILD were systemic sclerosis, idiopathic inflammatory myositis (including anti-synthetase syndrome) and rheumatoid arthritis. Non-specific interstitial pneumonia (n = 12) and usual interstitial pneumonia (n = 11) were the predominant radiological patterns. The sustained improvement in PFTs was observed from the start of RTX, with a statistically significant increase in DLCO from basal to one year after RTX (mean + 4.2%, p = 0.024). Overall, there were no differences when comparing PFT outcome according to the radiological pattern or the specific type of AD. In conclusion, RTX constitutes a good therapeutic option to preserve lung function in patients with AD-ILD, regardless of the radiological pattern or the underlying AD.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Caricchio ◽  
Erin R Narewski ◽  
Ryan Townsend ◽  
Stephen Codella ◽  
Jin Sun Kim ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction: Connective Tissue Disease Related Interstitial Lung Disease (CTD-ILD) is often treated with immunosuppressant medications; common among these is Mycophenolate Mofetil (MMF). We hypothesized that co-treatment with corticosteroids would impact disease progression.Methods: We examined a consecutive cohort of CTD-ILD patients followed at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA since 2015 who had pulmonary function tests (PFTs) performed by American Thoracic Society (ATS)/European Respiratory Society (ERS) Criteria at least one year apart. All patients were treated for CTD-ILD with MMF used either as sole therapy or as combination therapy with prednisone. Univariate logistic analyses were performed revealing the odds ratio (OR) for improvement or worsening of several PFT values (including forced vital capacity (FVC), diffusion capacity of carbon monoxide (DLCO), and six-minute walk (6MW)) greater than the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for each value.Results: We included 103 patients (74 women) with an average age of 60 ± 11 years, 49% of our cohort were current or former smokers, and mean BMI was 29 ± 7 kg/m2. Patients were observed on treatment for an average of 23 months. CTD distribution included 25% mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), 24% systemic sclerosis (SSc), 17% rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 14% systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 10% other idiopathic inflammatory myositis (IIM) syndromes, 7% Antisynthetase Syndrome, 5% Sjӧgren’s syndrome. Non-specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) was the majority (45%) ILD pattern noted, Usual Interstitial Pneumonia (UIP) 35%, and other types were less prevalent (20%). The majority of patients received corticosteroids as co-treatment with MMF (75 patients (72%)) with a mean daily dose of 15 ± 16 mg of prednisone. Mean daily MMF dose was 1144 ± 675 mg. Glucocorticoid treatment was not associated with significant improvements in PFT values, including FVC, DLCO, and 6MW distance walked.Conclusion: In this small cohort, patients with CTD-ILD receiving MMF did not demonstrate improved lung function when receiving co-treatment with corticosteroids, but larger prospective studies are needed to better elucidate the effect of corticosteroids on this vulnerable group of patients.


Author(s):  
Tamara Vojinovic ◽  
Ilaria Cavazzana ◽  
Paolo Ceruti ◽  
Micaela Fredi ◽  
Denise Modina ◽  
...  

Abstract Interstitial lung disease (ILD) represents one of the most severe extra-muscular features of idiopathic inflammatory myositis (IIM). We aimed to identify any clinical and serological predictors of ILD in a monocentric cohort of 165 IIM patients. ILD+ patients were defined as having restrictive impairment in lung function tests and signs of ILD at chest high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT). Available HRCT images were centralized and classified in different ILD patterns: non-specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP), organizing pneumonia (OP), usual interstitial pneumonia-like (UIP), indeterminate for UIP, and interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA). Lung function test data were recorded at onset, at 1 and 5 years after ILD diagnosis. ILD was found in 52 IIM patients (31.5%): 46.2% was affected by anti-synthetase syndrome (ARS), 21% by polymyositis (PM), 19% by dermatomyositis (DM), and 13.5% by overlap myositis. Most of ILD+ showed NSIP (31.9%), OP (19%), indeterminate for UIP (19%), and UIP (12.8%) patterns. At multivariate analysis, ILD was predicted by anti-Ro52 (p: 0.0026) and dyspnea (p: 0.015) at IIM onset. Most of ILD onset within is 12 months after IIM. In five cases, ILD occurs after 12 months since IIM diagnosis: these patients more frequently show dry cough and anti-Ku antibodies. Anti-Ro52 + ILD patients showed a significant increase of DLCO at 1 and 5 years of follow-up, compared with anti-Ro52 negative cases. ILD occurs in about one third of IIM and was predicted by dyspnea at onset and anti-Ro52 antibodies. Anti-Ro52 defines a subgroup of ILD showing a significant improvement of DLCO during follow-up. This retrospective study has been approved by local ethic committee (ASST-Spedali Civili of Brescia, Italy); protocol number: NP3511


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1222.2-1222
Author(s):  
R. Ortega Castro ◽  
P. S. Laura ◽  
F. U. Pilar ◽  
J. Calvo Gutierrez ◽  
A. Requejo-Jimenez ◽  
...  

Background:Diffuse interstitial lung disease (ILD) is frequently associated with connective tissue diseases (CTD) and is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in these patients. Recently, the concept of Interstitial Pneumonia with Autoimmune Features (IPAF) has been defined to characterize ILD associated with systemic manifestations limited to subtle serological and clinical autoimmune abnormalities and not fulfilling the international criteria for the diagnosis of a given CTD.Objectives:The objective of this study is to describe the clinical, serological and radiological characteristics, as well as the treatment patterns of patients with ILD referred to a Rheumatology Service for suspected CTDMethods:Observational, cross-sectional study of 43 patients with ILD referred for evaluation to the medical consultation of CTD of the Rheumatology service at the Reina Sofía Hospital. Patients were classified as patients with defined CTD, patient with IPAF and patients with other types of pneumopathy. We conducted a descriptive study of all patients and compared the clinical-analytical-radiological characteristics and treatment patterns of the first two groups.Results:Of the 43 patients, 67.40% were women with a mean age at diagnosis of 65.65 (10.42) years and 53.50% of smoking patientsOf the total of patients, 16 (37.2%) were included in the CTD group, 17 (39.5%) met criteria for IPAF and 10 (23.3%) had another type of pneumopathy.In the CTD group scleroderma was the most frequent disease (6/16), followed by inflammatory myopathy (4/16), Sjögren’s syndrome (3/16), rheumatoid arthritis (2/16) and polymyalgia rheumatic (1/16). In this group of patients, the most common symptom was Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP) (7/16), followed by arthritis (7/16) and mechanic’s hands (3/16). Regarding the most frequently antibodies were ANA (100%), anti-RO (41.7%), anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (30%) and rheumatoid factor (RF) (28.6%).In patients with IPAF, as in the CTD group, the most observed clinical criterion was RP (5/17), followed by arthritis (1/17) and mechanic’s hands (1/17). Among the serological criteria the most common antibodies were ANA (100%), followed by anti-RO (33.3%), anti-RNA synthetase (28.6%) and RF (22.2%).Regarding the radiological pattern, in both groups the most frequent was nonspecific interstitial pneumonia, followed by the indeterminate pattern and usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) in third place. There were no significant differences by gender and age, between the group of CTD and IPAF, observing in both groups a predominance of women with a similar mean age, being the upper smoking habit in the IPAF group (70.6% vs 31.5%, p= 0.02). Regarding the treatment used, the use of immunosuppressants (IS) was more frequent in CTD group (56.3% vs 11.8%, p = 0.007).Conclusion:The clinical-serological and radiological characteristics were similar among patients with IPAF and CTD, which supports the notion of a similar pathophysiology in both groups. In our cohort patients with CTD received IS more frequently than IPAF group, however, future work would be necessary to assess whether the response to treatment is similar in these populations and if IS can benefit patients with IPAF to long term. In addition, it could be useful to include the UIP pattern within the IPAF classification criteria, not currently included, since it is the third most frequent radiological pattern.References:[1]Respirology, 21 (2016), pp. 245-258[2]Eur Respir J, 46 (2015), pp. 976-987Disclosure of Interests:Rafaela Ortega Castro: None declared, Pérez Sánchez Laura: None declared, Font Ugalde Pilar: None declared, Jerusalem Calvo Gutierrez: None declared, Antonio Requejo-Jimenez: None declared, Simona Espejo-Pérez: None declared, Teresa Gonzalez-Serrano: None declared, María del Carmen Castro Villegas: None declared, Gómez García Ignacio: None declared, Alejandro Escudero Contreras: None declared, Eduardo Collantes Estevez Grant/research support from: ROCHE and Pfizer, Speakers bureau: ROCHE, Lilly, Bristol and Celgene, Maria A Aguirre: None declared


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1225.1-1225
Author(s):  
I. Perez ◽  
C. Vadillo ◽  
M. A. Nieto ◽  
D. Freites ◽  
Z. Rosales ◽  
...  

Background:A proportion of patients with Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) show autoimmune characteristics but do not completely meet the classification criteria for a definitive connective tissue disease. In order to unify the nomenclature and criteria to define this condition, the classification of patients with Interstitial Pneumonia with Autoimmune Features (IPAF) has recently been adopted (Fisher, et al).Objectives:To describe the sociodemographic, clinical, functional characteristics and therapeutic management of IPAF patients in clinical practice and to evaluate the incidence rate of functional respiratory impairment over time.Methods:A longitudinal observational study was performed. Patients with IPAF classification criteria (Fischer et al) were included from the time of ILD diagnosis (Feb 2017 to Sept 2018) and followed until loss of follow-up or end of the study (Oct 2019), in a multidisciplinary team, carried by a pneumologist and a rheumatologist in a Tertiary Hospital in Madrid. Main outcome: relative functional respiratory impairment: defined as decline in percent predicted forced vital capacity (FVC%) of ≥ 5% compared to the previous visit. Respiratory function was measured at baseline and every 6 months. Covariates: a) sociodemographic, b) clinical, c) radiological pattern (non-specific interstitial pneumonia [NSIP]; usual interstitial pneumonia [UIP], others); d) FVC%, DLCO%; e) laboratory tests; f) therapy used (glucorticosteroids, disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and Biologic Agents). Statistical analysis: description of the sociodemographic, clinical, radiological, functional and treatment characteristics of the patients. Survival techniques were used to estimate the incidence rate (IR) of relative functional respiratory impairment, expressed per 100 patient-semester with their respective confidence interval [95 % CI].Results:17 patients were included with a mean follow-up of 3 ± 1.5 years, 70.6% were women with a mean age of 65±10 years. The most frequent IPAF classification criteria were: a) clinical: arthritis (50%), Raynaud`s phenomenon (33%) and mechanical hands (17%); b) serological: 65% had ANA ≥1/360; 31% FR> 40; 30% Anti-Ro positive; c) morphologic: 59% presented NSIP pattern and 29.4% was UIP. The baseline median FVC% and DLCO% were 89 [83-107.7] and 63 [50-79.8] respectively. During the study period, 94% received treatment: 87.5% glucorticosteroids, 68.5% mycophenolate, 56% azathioprine, 18.7% cyclophosphamide iv and 33% antifibrotics. During the follow-up (104.6 patient - semester), 15 patients presented relative functional respiratory impairment, with an IR of 23.8 [16.1-35.3]. After 14 months from IPAF diagnosis 50% of the patients had relative functional respiratory impairment. At the end of the follow-up, 50% showed a worsening of the DLCO%.Conclusion:IPAF patients are mostly women in their sixties. The most frequent clinical criteria are arthritis and Raynaud`s phenomenon and the serological were FR and ANAs. The most frequent radiological pattern was NSIP. The therapeutic management is mainly with glucorticosteroids, mycophenolate and azathioprine. At the beginning, patients have a slightly diminished lung function. These patients have significant functional impairment over time that will impact in their prognosis. Longitudinal and multicenter studies are necessary to advance in the knowledge and management of these patients.References:[1]Fischer A, Antoniou KM, Brown KK, Cadranel J, Corte TJ, du Bois RM, et al. An official European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society research statement: interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features. Eur Respir J [Internet]. 2015 Oct;46(4):976–87. Available from:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26160873Disclosure of Interests:None declared


Rheumatology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (8) ◽  
pp. 2024-2029 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukai Wang ◽  
Shaoqi Chen ◽  
Jianqun Lin ◽  
Xuezhen Xie ◽  
Shijian Hu ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective Idiopathic inflammatory myositis-associated interstitial lung disease (IIM-ILD) significantly increases morbidity and mortality. Lung ultrasound B-lines and Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) are identified as new sonographic and serum markers of ILD, respectively. The aim of our work was to assess the role of B-lines and KL-6 as markers of the severity of IIM-ILD. For this purpose, the correlation among B-lines score, serum KL-6 levels, high-resolution CT (HRCT) score, and pulmonary function tests were investigated in IIM-ILD patients. Methods Thirty-eight patients with IIM-ILD underwent chest HRCT scans, lung ultrasound and pulmonary function tests (independently performed within 1 week) examination. To assess severity and extent of ILD at HRCT, the Warrick score was used. The B-lines score denoting the extension of ILD was calculated by summing the number of B-lines on a total of 50 scanning sites. Serum KL-6 levels (U/ml) was measured by chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay. Results A significant correlation was found between the B-lines score and serum KL-6 levels (r = 0.43, P < 0.01), and between the Warrick score and serum KL-6 levels (r = 0.45, P < 0.01). A positive correlation between B-lines score and the Warrick score (r = 0.87, P < 0.0001) was also confirmed. Both B-lines score and KL-6 levels inversely correlated to diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (r = −0.77, P < 0.0001 and r = −0.42, P < 0.05, respectively) and total lung capacity (r = −0.73, P < 0.0001 and r = −0.36, P < 0.05, respectively). Moreover, B-lines correlated inversely with forced vital capacity (r = −0.73, P < 0.0001), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (r = −0.69, P < 0.0001). Conclusion B-lines score and serum KL-6 levels correlate with HRCT findings and pulmonary function tests, supporting their use as measures of IIM-ILD severity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1607.2-1607
Author(s):  
T. Vojinovic ◽  
M. Fredi ◽  
P. Ceruti ◽  
D. Modina ◽  
F. Franceschini ◽  
...  

Background:Idiopathic Inflammatory Myositis (IIM) is a group of heterogeneous connective tissue diseases, primarily characterized by chronic muscle inflammation as well as myositis-specific or myositis-associated autoantibodies and a spectrum of different extra-muscular features.The most frequent organ involment in IIM is Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD), occurring in 5-80% of different IIMs cases and considered the hallmark of morbidity and mortality in patients with IIMs.Objectives:To retrospectively assess the predictive factors for development of ILD in IIM patientsMethods:We retrospectively analyzed the prevalence of ILD in a single-center cohort of 165 IIM patients. Patient data was collected from clinical charts. ILD was diagnosed by chest X-ray scan and chest CT scan. All chest CT and chest X-ray scans available and performed at our hospital were consequently re-evaluated by our expert pneumologist for uniform evaluation.Results:Myositis-related ILD (M-ILD) was found in 52 IIM patients (31.5%): 46.15% was affected by anti-synthetase syndrome (ARS), 21.15% by polymyositis (PM), 19.23% by dermatomyositis (DM) and 13.46% by overlap myositis. The pulmonary involvement was characterized by Non-specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) (30.6%), Unusual Interstitial Pneumonia (UIP) (38.77%), Bronchiolitis Obliterans with Organizing Pneumonia (BOOP) (20.4%), overlap NSIP/BOOP (4.1%) and Undetermined/Unspecific pattern (6.12%). Eighty four percent of M-ILD consisted of non-smokers and 69.23% presented with dyspnea at onset.ILD was diagnosed in 90.38% of patients within the first year of IIM diagnosis (early onset ILD) and was associated with dyspnea and/or cough in 70.2% and 17% respectively. On the other hand, late onset ILD presented mostly with dyspnea and/or cough in 60% of cases and was significantly associated with anti-Ku antobodies.At onset ILD was significantly associated with: ARS (p<0.0001; OR:12.98), anti-Jo-1 (p<0.0001; OR:6.1), anti-Ro (p=0.038; OR:2.2), mechanic’s hands (p<0.0001; OR:10.41), arthritis (p=0.01; OR:2.58), polyarthritis (p=0.001; OR:4.578), dyspnea (p<0.0001; OR:9.66), and high levels of CPK (p=0.0001) and GOT (p=0.0146). By contrast, the following features: DM (p=0.012; OR:0.36), facial rash (p=0.003; OR:0.31), anti-NXP-2 (p=0.019; OR<0.0001), anti-PL-12 (p=0,03; OR<0.0001) and myositis (p<0.0001; OR:0.173) present at onset were less frequently associated with M-ILD.At multivariate analysis M-ILD was predicted by anti-Ro (p=0.0448), polyarthritis (p=0.0093) and dyspnea (p=0.0001) at onset. On the other hand, patients presenting myositis (p=0.0383) and facial rash (p=0.0398) at onset were less likely to developed M-ILD.Conclusion:ILD occurs in about one third of patients with IIM, mostly affected by ARS. The presence of anti-Ro antibodies as well as polyarthritis and dyspnea at onset predict the development of ILD.Disclosure of Interests:None declared


Author(s):  
Laurie A. Hohberger ◽  
Felicia Montero-Arias ◽  
Anja C. Roden ◽  
Robert Vassallo

Usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) is the most common idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP) and is associated with a poor prognosis and poor responsiveness to immunosuppressive therapy. We present a case of a woman with steroid-responsive biopsy-proven UIP with significant and sustained improvement in pulmonary function. A female in her 40s presented following a one-year history of progressive dyspnea, a 20 lb weight loss, and fatigue. Imaging of the chest with computed tomography (CT) showed bibasilar subpleural reticular opacities and minimal peripheral honeycombing. Comprehensive connective tissue disease (CTD) antibody testing was negative. Pulmonary function testing showed moderate impairment with reduction in forced vital capacity (FVC, 69% predicted), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1 73% predicted), and diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO, 52% predicted). Surgical lung biopsy showed UIP with prominent inflammatory infiltrates. Following treatment with prednisone and azathioprine, the patient's symptoms resolved, while objective pulmonary function testing showed normalization of lung function, which is sustained at >4 years of follow-up. Improvement in lung function following immunosuppressive therapy is distinctly uncommon in either idiopathic or secondary UIP. This report suggests that occasionally, patients with secondary UIP occurring in the context of otherwise undefinable autoimmune clinical syndromes may be responsive to immunosuppressive therapy.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Picchianti Diamanti ◽  
V. Germano ◽  
E. Bizzi ◽  
B. Laganà ◽  
A. Migliore

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) represents a severe manifestation in connective tissue diseases (CTD), with an overall incidence of 15%, and it is still a challenge for clinicians evaluation and management. ILD is the most common manifestation of lung involvement in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), observed in up to 80% of biopsies, 50% of chest Computed Tomography (CT) and only 5% of chest radiographs. Histopatological patterns of ILD in RA may present with different patterns, such as: usual interstitial pneumonia, non specific interstitial pneumonia, desquamative interstitial pneumonia, organizing pneumonia, and eosinophilic infiltration. The incidence of ILD in RA patients is not only related to the disease itself, many drugs may be in fact associated with the development of pulmonary damage. Some reports suggest a causative role for TNFαinhibitors in RA-ILD development/worsening, anyway, no definitive statement can be drawn thus data are incomplete and affected by several variables. A tight control (pulmonary function tests and/or HRCT) is mandatory in patients with preexisting ILD, but it should be also performed in those presenting risk factors for ILD and mild respiratory symptoms. Biologic therapy should be interrupted, and, after excluding triggering infections, corticosteroids should be administered.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (22) ◽  
pp. 5241
Author(s):  
Chih-Wei Tseng ◽  
Kao-Lun Wang ◽  
Pin-Kuei Fu ◽  
Cheng-Yi Huang ◽  
Tsu-Yi Hsieh ◽  
...  

Background. Anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA-5) antibody is associated with respiratory failure and death in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myositis (IIM) and interstitial lung disease (ILD). This study aimed to investigate clinical parameters associated with mortality in anti-MDA-5 antibody-positive patients. Methods. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and laboratory data, and pulmonary function test results in 55 anti-MDA-5 antibody-positive patients. A comparison was made between the survivors and non-survivors at the 12-month follow-up. Results. A total of 13 patients (23.6%) died within 12 months. Non-survivors had higher GAP scores (gender, age, and physiology score for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis) (1 vs. 6, p < 0.01) and CA-153 (16.4 vs. 72.9, p < 0.01). In addition, rapid progressive ILD, fever, peak ferritin, leukocyte count, lactate dehydrogenase, CT score, intravenous immunoglobulin, mycophenolic acid, CMV infections, pneumocystis pneumonia, and pneumothorax were significantly associated with increased risks of 1-year mortality, while forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in one second, and diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide were correlated with decreased risk of 1-year mortality. Conclusions. Our study results suggest that GAP scores and CA-153 could be prognostic factors for 1-year mortality in anti-MDA-5 antibody-positive patients. A prompt pulmonary function test and CA-153 are essential for these patients to guide further management.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 1759720X2110375
Author(s):  
Panagiotis Panagopoulos ◽  
Andreas Goules ◽  
Anna Maria Hoffmann-Vold ◽  
Eric L. Matteson ◽  
Athanasios Tzioufas

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a relatively frequent manifestation of systemic autoimmune rheumatic disorders (SARDs), including systemic sclerosis (SSc), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS), and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis. Interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF) has been proposed to describe patients with ILD who have clinical or serological findings compatible with SARDs but they are not sufficient for a definite diagnosis. ILD may present with different patterns among patients with SARDs, but most commonly as nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP), with the exception of RA and ANCA vasculitis that more often present with usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP). The natural history of ILD is quite variable, even among patients with the same SARD. It may present with subclinical features following a slow progressively course or with acute manifestations and clinically significant rapid progression leading to severe deterioration of pulmonary function and respiratory failure. The radiographic pattern of ILD, the extent of the disease, the baseline pulmonary function, the pulmonary function deterioration rate over time and clinical variables related to the primary SARD, such as age, sex and the clinical phenotype, are considered prognostic factors for SARDs-ILD associated with adverse outcomes and increased mortality. Different modalities can be employed for ILD detection including clinical evaluation, pulmonary function tests, high resolution computed tomography and novel techniques such as lung ultrasound and serum biomarkers. ILD may determine the clinical outcome of SARDs, since it is associated with significant morbidity and mortality and therefore screening of patients with SARDs for ILD is of great clinical importance.


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