Objectives
To describe the clinical, radiologic, and pathologic findings in cases where smoking-related interstitial fibrosis (SRIF) was diagnosed in surgical lung biopsy specimens from patients with clinical and imaging features of diffuse parenchymal lung disease (DPLD).
Methods
Cases were included in this study if patients had clinical and imaging evidence of DPLD and surgical lung biopsy specimens revealed SRIF. A dedicated multidisciplinary conference was held to correlate clinical, radiologic, and pathologic findings.
Results
Six cases met inclusion criteria; all six (five women/one man, aged 42-57 years, mean age 47 years) were either current smokers (five of six) or ex-smokers (one of six) and were evaluated for respiratory symptoms and abnormal pulmonary function tests, most commonly reduced forced vital capacity (n = 3) and diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (n = 6). The most common imaging abnormalities were bilateral ground-glass opacities, which correlated with histopathologic SRIF. Follow-up of up to 10 years showed stable or improved clinical symptoms, pulmonary function tests, and radiologic findings with smoking cessation (three patients) or a decrease in smoking (three patients). No specific treatments were given, and those treated with empiric corticosteroid tapers did not show discernible responses.
Conclusions
SRIF can present as clinically meaningful diffuse parenchymal lung disease in relatively young heavy smokers, characterized by bilateral ground-glass opacities and a stable clinical course.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.