title: [Variability among pathologists in the histological diagnosis of diffuse interstitial lung diseases].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Diffuse interstitial lung diseases (DILD) form a group of diseases which affect the alveolar interstitial space and share very similar clinical, radiological, and functional features, making lung biopsy essential for establishing diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment in many cases. We aimed to see whether there was agreement in histopathological diagnosis among different groups of pathologists in their assessment of these diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  Biopsies were studied from 33 patients suffering from noninfectious, nontumorous DILD. The biopsies had been assessed by 2 groups of pathologists: one specializing in this type of disease and another which was not a specialist group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was disagreement in the histology reports of 10 out of the 33 cases studied (30.3%): 9 cases in the group of 22 cases of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (40.9%) and 1 in the group of 3 DILD with known or associated causes. No discrepancies were found, however, in the diagnosis of primary DILD or DILD associated with other, less well-defined processes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We believe that idiopathic interstitial pneumonias are the DILD which pose most problems for pathologists. Therefore, the study of DILD requires specific dedication by pathologists and other professionals and specialists.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neumología, Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena, Sevilla, Spain. sanchezva@terra.es
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Varilla
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Recio-Gallardo
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Benítez-Moya
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Almadana-Pacheco
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peña de Bustillo
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Martínez-Puentes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017563:Lung Diseases, Interstitial / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation