Discussion
Diagnosis With Brief Discussion
- Diagnosis
- Desquamative interstitial pneumonia
- Radiologic Findings
- Fig 1. Chest PA shows multifocal patchy ground-glass opacities in both lungs.
Fig 2-4. Chest CT scan shows diffuse ground-glass opacities and air cysts in both lungs, mainly distributed in the basal and peripheral lungs. A VATS biopsy specimen from this patient, who has a 40-pack-year smoking history, demonstrates the accumulation of intra-alveolar macrophages within the alveolar air spaces accompanied by interstitial fibrosis, consistent with desquamative interstitial pneumonia.
- Brief Review
- Desquamative interstitial pneumonia (DIP) is a rare form of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP). DIP is strongly associated with cigarette smoking (approximately 90% of patients). However, DIP also occurs in nonsmokers and has been related to a variety of conditions, including lung infections and exposure to organic dust. Chest radiographs of DIP are nonspecific and may reveal hazy opacities. At high-resolution CT, DIP is characterized by diffuse ground-glass opacities, which correlate histologically with the spatially homogeneous intraalveolar accumulation of macrophages and thickening of alveolar septa. Usually, there is a peripheral and lower lung lobe predominance. Other frequent CT findings include spatially limited irregular linear opacities and small cystic spaces, which are indicative of fibrotic changes. With smoking cessation and corticosteroid therapy, the prognosis is good. Nevertheless, progressive disease with eventual death can occur, notably in patients with continued cigarette smoking.
- References
- 1. LynchDA, Travis WD, Muller NL, et al. Idiopathic interstitial pneumonias: CT features. Radiology2005; 236: 10–21
2. HidalgoA, Franquet T, Gimenez A, Bordes R, Pineda R, Madrid M. Smoking-related interstitial lung diseases: radiologic-pathologic correlation. Eur Radiol2006; 16: 2463–2470.
3. Mueller-Mang C, Grosse C, Schmid K, Stiebellehner L, Bankier AA. What every radiologist should know about idiopathic interstitial pneumonias. Radiographics. 2007 May-Jun;27(3):595-615.
- Keywords
- smoking related, IIP,