Discussion
Diagnosis With Brief Discussion
- Diagnosis
- Systemic lupus erythematous with NSIP and pulmonary arterial hypertension
- Radiologic Findings
- Chest radiographs shows minimal reticular opacities in both lower lung zones with focal ground-glass opacity in left lower lung zone. Contrast CT scans show dilatation of pulmonary trunk with larger diameter than ascending aorta measuring 3.3 cm and enlargement of right cardiac chamber that are suggestive of pulmonary arterial hypertension.
- Brief Review
- Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by inflammation, immune complex deposition, vasculitis, and vasculopathy. Involvement of the respiratory system in SLE is relatively common. Over one-half of patients with SLE develop pulmonary disease, with pneumonia, pulmonary hemorrhage, and lupus pneumonitis being the most common manifestations. The most common patterns of parenchymal involvement are cellular, fibrotic, or mixed nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP). The most common HRCT pattern of interstitial lung disease is a combination of ground-glass opacity and reticular opacities. Other common abnormal features include parenchymal bands, centrilobular nodularity, and focal consolidation. These changes predominate in the mid- and lower-lung zones. One fifth of patients have mediastinal lymphadenopathy accompanying parenchymal opacities.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension is an increasingly recognized complication of SLE. Less than one-half of patients have pathologic abnormalities of pulmonary vessels. Vascular abnormalities typically afflict small vessels only and most commonly and most severely in the muscular arteries. Varying degrees of smooth muscle hypertrophy and hyperplasia, intimal fibrosis, inflammatory cellular infiltration of pulmonary arterioles (vasculitis), destruction of the elastic laminae, and in situ thrombosis may be observed. In the early phase of the disease, chest radiographic findings may be normal. Advanced radiographic findings include enlargement of the right ventricle and central pulmonary arteries with distal attenuation (pruning) of the arteries, reflecting obliteration of the more distal vessels.
- References
- 1. Kim, JS, Lee KS, Koh E, Kim SY, Chung MP, Han J. Thoracic Involvement of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Clinical, Pathologic, and Radiologic Findings. J Comput Assist Tomogr.2000 Jan-Feb;24(1):9-18
2. Jeffrey J. Swigris, DO, MS; Aryeh Fischer, MD et al. Pulmonary and Thrombotic Manifestations of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Chest 2008;133;271-280
3. Bull TM, Fagan KA, Badesch DB. Pulmonary vascular manifestations of mixed connective tissue disease. Rheum Dis Clin North Am. 2005;31(3):451-464
- Please refer to
- Case 165 Case 225 Case 306 Case 500
-
- Keywords
- Lung, Vascular, Connective tissue diseases, SLE,