A review on Interstitial Lung Diseases: an overview from diagnosis to innovative therapies

Abstract

Interstitial Lung Diseases (ILDs) enclose a wide heterogeneous group of more than 200 pathological disorders, which are characterized by an inflammatory and/or fibrotic pattern in the respiratory tract. In recent years, significant developments in the understanding of their pathogenesis have led to considerable progress in the therapeutic field and in improving clinical outcomes. COVID-19 pandemic has also had an important impact on the course of interstitial disease, particularly that which developed following infection in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, as well as in patients with pre-existing interstitial disease prior to infection. The purpose of this review is to describe clinical, radiological and therapeutic features of some of the most common interstitial lung diseases, as well as the multidisciplinary diagnostic procedure that underlies an increasingly accurate diagnosis.