Mrinal Kanti Ghosh1 , Priyadarshini Sur2 , Mustafijur Rahaman3 , Soumitra Kumar Ghosh4 , Raman Sau5 , Rajatsubhra Haldar6 , Ananya Mondal7 , Sudhish Hazra8
BACKGROUND Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) is a group of diffuse lung parenchymal diseases characterized by the involvement of pulmonary interstitium. High resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is the cross-sectional imaging modality of choice for the diagnosis and follow up of ILD as it is accurate as well as non-invasive. The present study was done to describe the basic HRCT patterns associated with Interstitial Lung Disease and to correlate the HRCT patterns with clinical data to obtain differential diagnosis of Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD). METHODS 100 patients (41 males and 59 females) with a mean age of 50 years were included in this study during the period from July 2017 to June 2018. These patients were primarily diagnosed as having interstitial lung disease solely on the basis of clinical findings and chest x-ray by the Chest Medicine Department of BMCH and then referred to Radiology Department BMCH for HRCT assessment. RESULTS 74 patients were diagnosed to have interstitial lung disease and 26 patients had airway disease as well. The common frequent findings in interstitial lung disease (ILD) were idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (UIP) (30%), idiopathic NSIP (21%), connective tissue disease related ILD (15%), extrinsic allergic alveolitis (EAA) (9%), pulmonary lymphangitis carcinomatosis (PLC) (6%) and 4% for each respiratory bronchiolitis associated interstitial lung disease (RB-ILD), bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP), and occupational lung disease. Breathlessness on exertion (93.3%) and dry cough (100%) were the most common presenting symptoms of UIP. The HRCT findings of UIP included reticular shadowing (100%), nodular shadowing (16%), associated ground-glass attenuation in 73.3% and peribronchovascular thickening in 53%. The signs of lung fibrosis were honeycombing in 83.3%, traction bronchiectasis (66%), septal thickening (66%), core pulmonale in 30% and associated lung cancer in 10%. CONCLUSIONS UIP was the most common interstitial lung disease observed in our study. HRCT is the modality of choice in assessing diffuse parenchymal lung disease especially in the aspects of disease activity and earlier detection and characterization of disease.
