Abstract :Objectives: Studies pointing out the occurrence of Interstitial Lung Diseases (ILD) in Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Diseases (UCTD) have been so far derived from patients admitted to Respiratory Medicine Units. We undertook the present prospective study to investigate for the presence of lung involvement, patients admitted to a Rheumatology Unit and diagnosed as UCTD.
Materials and Methods: Eighty-one consecutive UCTD patients were enrolled in the study. Each patient underwent history and physical examination, routine laboratory investigations, antinuclear antibody (ANA) profiling, B-mode echocardiography and lung function study according to previously reported methods. Moreover patients giving a further consent, underwent a high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of lungs.
Results: Six patients (7.4%) referred dyspnea grade II at history. Out of them 3 presented a DLCO ranging from 42 to 55% of the predicted value; and a HRCT documented ILD with a Non-Specific Interstitial Pneumonia (NSIP) pattern. The other 3 patients suffered from cardiac disease accounting for their symptoms.
Out of the 75 asymptomatic patients, nobody presented relevant findings at physical examination, 26 resulted to have a DLCO < 80% (< 70% in 10 cases). Thirty out of these 75 patients accepted to undergo lung HRCT, that pointed out a NSIP-ILD in 3 cases.
Conclusion:Six out of the 81 investigated were found to present a definite ILD which was symptomatic in half cases. A higher percentage of patients resulted to have a reduced DLCO, the meaning of which awaits to be investigated (preradiographicILD? Preechocardiographic pulmonary vascular disease?).