RADIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASES ON HIGH-RESOLUTION COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IN TERTIARY CARE CENTER OF NORTH INDIA

Abstract

Objective: This study assessed the various high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) patterns of interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) and to differentially diagnose ILD based on their clinical findings and distribution patterns. Methods: The study was conducted in the Department of Radiodiagnosis, Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, Punjab, India. Forty-three patients with clinical suspicion of ILD were enrolled in the study. HRCT scans of the chest were done in all the cases taken in the study. Results: The mean age (±he age group of 51–60 years. We found slight female preponderance with females accounting for 53.5% and males accounting for 46.5% of the caseload. The most common presenting complaint was dyspnea on exertion (83.7%) followed by cough in 69.8%. The most frequent HRCT finding was septal thickening (90.7%), followed by tractional bronchiectasis (83.7%), fibrotic changes (72.1%), ground-glass opacities (65.1%), and honeycombing (58.1%). Based on HRCT findings, the most common HRCT pattern was the typical usual interstitial pneumonia pattern (58.1%), followed by the non-specific interstitial pneumonia pattern. The final diagnoses were made based on clinic-radiological findings and by the exclusion of other possibilities. The most common ILD reported was idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (39.5%), followed by connective tissue disorder-ILD (20.9%), and SR-ILD (13.9%). This is followed by idiopathic non-specific interstitial pneumonia (11.6%), hypersensitivity pneumonitis (6.9%), and cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (2.3%). Conclusion: HRCT is a valuable technique for evaluating various ILDs even when chest X-rays are normal. It can differentially diagnose ILDs based on their clinical findings and distribution patterns.