Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: The Importance of Qualitative and Quantitative Phenotyping

During the past decade, imaging has become of paramount importance in the diagnosis of patients with interstitial lung disorders. In addition, the quantification of radiographic features at the time of diagnosis gives important prognostic information and changes in these features over time may prove to be useful outcome variables in the study of new treatments and monitoring of patients’ response to therapy. In this chapter, we review the classification of interstitial lung diseases focusing on the role of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), particularly as it pertains to the need for obtaining a surgical lung biopsy. We also discuss the role of baseline and longitudinal semi-quantitative and quantitative measurement of HRCT features in assessment of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).