[Lung involvement in systemic connective tissue diseases].
OBJECTIVE
Systemic connective tissue diseases (SCTD) are chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorders of unknown cause that can involve different organs and systems. Their course and prognosis are different. All of them can, more or less, involve the respiratory sistem. The aim of this study was to find out the frequency of respiratory simptoms, lung function disorders, radiography and high-resolution computerized tomography (HRCT) abnormalities, and their correlation with the duration of the disease and the applied treatment.


METHODS
In 47 non-randomised consecutive patients standard chest radiography, HRCT, and lung function tests were done.


RESULTS
Hypoxemia was present in nine of the patients with respiratory simptoms (20%). In all of them chest radiography was normal. In five of these patients lung fibrosis was established using HRCT. Half of all the patients with SCTD had simptoms of lung involment. Lung function tests disorders of various degrees were found in 40% of the patients. The outcome and the degree of lung functin disorders were neither in correlation with the duration of SCTD nor with therapy used (p > 0.05 Spearmans Ro).


CONCLUSIONS
Pulmonary fibrosis occures in about 10% of the patients with SCTD, and possibly not due to the applied treatment regimens. Hypoxemia could be a sing of existing pulmonary fibrosis in the absence of disorders on standard chest radiography.
Plavec
Goran
G
Vojnomedicinska akademija, Klinika za plućne bolesti, Beograd, Srbija. g_plavec@yahoo.com
Tomić
Ilija
I
Bihorac
Sanela
S
Kovacević
Gordana
G
Pavlica
Ljiljana
L
Cvetković
Gordana
G
Sikimić
Stevan
S
Milić
Rade
R
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003240:Connective Tissue Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged