Diagnostic and prognostic trajectories of interstitial lung diseases after the multidisciplinary discussion.

Background: The 2018 guidelines on the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) conditionally recommend multidisciplinary discussion (MDD) for diagnostic decision-making. However, limited data concerning the diagnostic impact of MDD on interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are available.

Objectives: The objective of this prospective study was to assess the impact of MDD at a tertiary referral ILD center on diagnostic trajectories, prognosis, and identification of potential treatable traits in ILD management.

Design: This prospective study enrolled all consecutive adult ILD patients referred for MDD to a tertiary academic center in San Antonio, TX, USA from January 2017 to May 2020. The subjects were followed during a 3-year follow-up period after the MDD.

Methods: Patients were stratified into three groups according to the pre-MDD diagnosis: unspecified ILD, IPF, and not IPF, and compared to the re-stratification post-MDD diagnosis into: unclassifiable ILD, IPF, and not IPF. The primary outcome was the percentage change in diagnostic trajectories after the MDD discussion.

Results: A total of 201 ILD patients (61.7% male; mean (DS) age: 67.2 (10.4) years) were included in the study. The total diagnostic trajectory change occurred in 122 (60.7%) patients. The diagnostic trajectories changed in 40 (46.5%) patients in the IPF group and 8 (19.5%) in the non-IPF group (p-value = 0.0003). Patients with pre-MDD unspecified-ILD were classified as not-IPF in 32.4% (n = 24), IPF in 23% (n = 17), and unclassifiable-ILD in 44.6% (n = 33) post-MDD. Considering the post-MDD diagnosis, differences in mortality were detected among the three groups (p = 0.037).

Conclusion: Our results suggest that MDD has a significant impact not only on the diagnostic trajectories (DT) but also on the prognosis of patients with ILDs.