Symposium 4

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a fibrotic disease of the lung parenchyma. It can occur in different connective tissue diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Smoking, male gender and longstanding RA are possible risk factors for developing ILD 1 . Being a common extra-articular manifestation of RA, it can contribute to decreased quality of life, chronic disability, high utilization of healthcare resources, and may also lead to substantial morbidity and mortality for affected patients1. Hence, early identification and management is of paramount importance to improve patient outcomes. Clinical presentation, chest X-ray, pulmonary function testing and high-resolution computed tomography are common tools for investigation and they also allows assessment of subtype and disease extent 2 . The histopathologic and radiographic features of RA-ILD are heterogeneous. The most frequent patterns of RA-ILD are usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) and nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP). Distinguishing the patterns is useful in predicting prognosis and would also affect subsequent management approach 2 . Traditionally treatment initiated for RA-ILD was generally empirical. Corticosteroids were often used as first-line agents and immunosuppressants maybe added2. However, these treatments are not specific and mainly target inflammation instead of fibrosis. With the advance in medicine, antifibrotic is now indicated for treating fibrosing ILD with progressive phenotype. FVC decline can be slowed in patients with connective tissue disease associated progressive ILD 3 . In this lecture, Prof. Vanessa Smith will share the current knowledge and evidence in RA-ILD. The approach on identifying and screening ILD in RA patients would be presented. The management strategy and options would also be reviewed.