title: [Pulmonary manifestations of connective tissue diseases].
abstract: Systemic autoimmune diseases are responsible for about 25% of all deaths due to interstitial lung disease; therefore, an early identification of patients with pulmonary manifestation changes the management. Detection, differential diagnostic classification and staging of the pneumological pattern of findings are largely based on high-resolution computed tomography (HR-CT). The main differential diagnostic challenges are interstitial manifestations which present with radiological-histopathological phenotypes of interstitial pneumonia. The most common form of interstitial pulmonary reaction form of connective tissue diseases is the nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) pattern. In rheumatoid arthritis, a usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern is dominant. Uncharacteristic reactions of airways and pleura can be the leading symptom or present as accompanying findings. A serious complication is pulmonary hypertension. Drug-induced lung lesions can present with similar HR-CT morphology as connective tissue diseases and can only be differentiated in the temporal and clinical context.
authors.affiliation: Praxis für Diagnostische Radiologie - Spezialgebiet Lunge, Bismarckstr. 45-47, 10627, Berlin, Deutschland, b.rehbock@radiologie-lunge-berlin.de.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rehbock
mesh_terms: D003240:Connective Tissue Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology*; D017563:Lung Diseases, Interstitial / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods