Clinical Characteristics of Connective Tissue Disease-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease in 1,044 Chinese Patients.

Because the prevalence of connective tissue disease (CTD)-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD; CTD-ILD) in China is unknown, we wanted to analyze the clinical characteristics of this disease in Chinese patients. The medical records of patients who received a diagnosis of ILD and treated in Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital from January 1999 to January 2013 were reviewed. Based on the records, patients who also received a diagnosis of CTD were identified, and their records of follow-up examinations for a minimum of 12 months until the end of December 2013 were reviewed. Of the 2,678 patients who received a diagnosis of ILD, 1,798 (67%) were identified as having CTD-ILD; 299 (11.2%) had idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Complete clinical data were available for 1,044 patients with CTD-ILD and 178 with IPF. We found that 332 of the 1,044 patients with CTD-ILD (32%) did not receive an accurate diagnosis at the initial hospital admission, 195 (18.7%) of the 1,044 patients showed persistent negative test results for autoantibodies, and 262 (25.1%) of the 1,044 patients had negative autoantibodies at the initial hospital admission and then became positive at follow-up examinations. Of the 288 patients who had confirmed CTD-ILD, 41 (14%) showed pulmonary symptoms as the initial clinical manifestation (PSIM) and 247 (86%) showed extrapulmonary symptoms as the initial clinical manifestation (EPSIM). For the 756 patients who had undifferentiated CTD-ILD, the proportion of PSIM and EPSIM was 44% and 56%, respectively. For patients who presented with PSIM, 23 who had confirmed CTD-ILD (56%) and 216 who had unconfirmed CTD-ILD (65%) did not receive an accurate diagnosis at the initial visit but were ultimately diagnosed at subsequent follow-up examinations. Patients with CTD-ILD do not receive an accurate diagnosis at the initial hospital admission possibly because of negative serologic test results for autoantibodies and the absence of obvious extrapulmonary symptoms. Thus, patients with ILD should be examined for extrapulmonary symptoms and tested for autoantibodies at follow-up examinations.

Hu Y ，Wang LS ，Wei YR ，Du SS ，Du YK ，He X ，Li N ，Zhou Y ，Li QH ，Su YL ，Zhang F ，Shen L ，Weng D ，Brown KK ，Li HP ... -  《-》

Comparison of characteristics of connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung diseases, undifferentiated connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung diseases, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in Chinese Han population: a retrospectiv

Pan L ，Liu Y ，Sun R ，Fan M ，Shi G ... -  《-》

Acute exacerbations of fibrosing interstitial lung disease associated with connective tissue diseases: a population-based study.

Cao M ，Sheng J ，Qiu X ，Wang D ，Wang D ，Wang Y ，Xiao Y ，Cai H ... -  《BMC Pulmonary Medicine》

Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonia Associated With Autoantibodies: A Large Case Series Followed Over 1 Year.

Some patients with autoimmune characteristics and idiopathic interstitial pneumonia, particularly usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP), do not fit neatly into the category of connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease (CTD-ILD), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), or recently proposed yet to be validated criteria for interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF). Outcomes of these patients are unknown. This was a retrospective single-center study. Analyses of variance compared differences in mean change in FVC and diffusion capacity (Dlco) over 1 year among 124 well-defined patients (20 patients with positive autoantibodies with or without symptoms of connective tissue disease [AI-ILD], 15 patients with IPAF, 36 patients with CTD-ILD, and 53 patients with IPF with negative CTD serologies [Lone-IPF]). Of the patients, 75% with AI-ILD, 33% with IPAF, and 33% with CTD-ILD had UIP. Initial FVC and Dlco were similarly moderately reduced across groups. Mean change in FVC over 12 months was as follows: -60 mL (IPAF), -110 mL (AI-ILD), -10 mL (CTD-ILD), and -90 mL (Lone-IPF) (P = .52). Mean change in Dlco was as follows: 2.39 mL/mm Hg/min (IPAF), -1.15 mL/mm Hg/min (AI-ILD), -0.27 mL/mm Hg/min (CTD-ILD), and -1.05 mL/mm Hg/min (Lone-IPF) (P < .001). By pattern of disease, the mean change in FVC was as follows: -140 mL (UIP), 10 mL (nonspecific interstitial pneumonia), and 12 mL (unclassifiable/other) (P = .001). No clinically significant differences in pulmonary function to distinguish between patients with AI-ILD, IPAF, CTD-ILD, and Lone-IPF were observed after 1 year. Longer periods of follow-up are needed to understand the outcomes of these patients. It is not yet clear whether AI-ILD is a distinct phenotype or a variant of the newly proposed entity IPAF.

Collins BF ，Spiekerman CF ，Shaw MA ，Ho LA ，Hayes J ，Spada CA ，Stamato CM ，Raghu G ... -  《-》

Clinical features and outcome of acute exacerbation in connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease: A single-center study from India.

Acute exacerbation (AE) of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is associated with high mortality, but there is limited clinical data on AE of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in connective tissue disease-associated ILD (CTD ILD). The present study was conducted to provide prevalence and clinical features of AE, as well as various risk factors associated with mortality among AE CTD ILD patients. Between May 2013 and April 2018, 15 patients who developed AE among 105 consecutive patients with CTD with chronic ILD were included. AE was defined using the criteria recently proposed by the IPF net, with slight modification for adaptation to CVD-IP6 (collagen vascular disease-associated interstitial pneumonia), and patients having CTD with AE met all the criteria. Fifteen patients with mean age of 45.8 ± 13.9 years developed AE; the most common subgroup (n = 5, 33%) was systemic sclerosis. The mean duration (months) between diagnosis of ILD and AE was 56.5 ± 38.0 with mean follow-up duration of 24 ± 18.1 months. The baseline arterial oxygen pressure (PaO2 ) was 81.7 ± 8.1 mm Hg and mean forced vital capacity (%) was 57.9 ± 8.9. Five patients requiring mechanical ventilation died. Patients with shorter duration (months) of disease between onset of ILD to AE had higher mortality, 40.4 ± 45.1 vs 64.6 ± 33.6. Those who had significantly lower baseline PaO2 (mean ± SD), 72.6 ± 3.4 vs 86.2 ± 5.3 mm Hg (P = .002) had higher mortality. In our study, the majority of patients with AE CTD ILD had systemic sclerosis. Patients with lower baseline PaO2 and those requiring mechanical ventilation had higher mortality.

Singh P ，Thakur B ，Mohapatra AK ，Padhan P ... -  《-》