Display Settings:

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination
    Postgrad Med J. 2006 Aug;82(970):494-9.

    Interstitial lung disease: progress and problems.

    Source

    Department of Respiratory Medicine, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4LP, UK. Stephen.Bourke@nuth.northy.nhs.uk

    Abstract

    Interstitial lung disease involves all areas of medicine as it often occurs in patients with comorbidities or as a consequence of systemic diseases and their treatment. Typically the physician is faced with a breathless patient, a diffusely abnormal chest radiograph, and a wide differential diagnosis. Progress has been made in using high resolution computed tomography as the key investigation in characterising the pattern and extent of the disease. Bronchoalveolar lavage is particularly important in excluding infection as a cause of diffuse lung infiltrates. Surgical lung biopsies have led to a new classification system for the range of histopathological patterns of disease that were previously known by the collective term cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis. Problems persist in deciding when a surgical lung biopsy is clinically justified, in understanding the pathogenesis of these diseases, and in finding more effective treatments.

    PMID:
    16891438
    [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
    PMCID: PMC2585700
    Free PMC Article

    Images from this publication.See all images (3) Free text

    Figure 2
    Figure 1
    Figure 3

      Supplemental Content

      Click here to read Click here to read

      Recent activity

      Your browsing activity is empty.

      Activity recording is turned off.

      Turn recording back on

      See more...
      Write to the Help Desk