Interstitial lung abnormalities – real-world evidence

Abstract

<b>Introduction:</b> Interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA) are a radiological entity with clinical implications. <b>Aims and objectives:</b>&nbsp;Identify and characterize patients with ILA within the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS®) program. <b>Methods:</b>&nbsp;Retrospective and descriptive study of patients referred to Respiratory Rehabilitation in the preoperative period of major abdominal surgery, within the scope of the ERAS® program. We analyzed a 21-month period. <b>Results:</b>&nbsp;We evaluated 128 patients with a median age of 71 years (IQR 56-86), most of them male (n 82; 64%), 50.8% (n 65) had a history of smoking. Most patients were referred to the ERAS® program for oncological disease (n 122; 95.3%). We found 7 (5.5%) patients with ILA, most were male (n 6; 85.7%), with a median age of 78 years (IQR 49-107), and 42.9% (n 3) had a history of smoking. Two patients had respiratory symptoms, and none of those who underwent functional assessment showed alterations (n 5). The radiologic evaluation revealed that most patients (n 6) had reticular alterations. ILA patients had more comorbidities (p=0.033). We found an association between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and the presence of ILA (OR 15.73; 95% CI 95 2.128-116.314; p=0.024). The median length of hospital stay was 9-days (IQR 7-24) in ILA vs. 7-days (IQR 5-14) in non-ILA patients (p=0.205). Seven patients died, 3 were ILA. We found an association between having ILA and death (OR 17.4; 95% CI 3.041-99.552; p=0.005). <b>Conclusion:</b>&nbsp;Of the patients submitted to the ERAS® program, 5.5% had ILA, corresponding to the prevalence described in other studies. GERD appears to be associated with ILA. ILA patients have a higher risk of mortality.&nbsp;Thus, identifying ILA patients has prognostic value.