Smoking-related interstitial fibrosis

Abstract

Smoking-related interstitial fibrosis(SRIF)is a new clinical term which is proposed in recent years. First of all, it is closely related to smoking. And its symptoms are relatively mild, with slow progression. Secondly, even through, its radiological images are short of specificity, high resolution CT may be helpful for clinical diagnosis, but its pathological features are significantly different. The alveolar septa is thickened by transparent and dense collagen accompany with emphysema in most situations. Thirdly,its prognosis is better relatively,which differs from other interstitial lung diseases.This article overviews the pathologic features,clinical manifestations,diagnosis and differential diagnosis of SRIF,with the wish to improve the clinical understanding of medical workers on SRIF. Key words: Interstitial lung disease; Smoking-related interstitial fibrosis; Pathologic features