INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASES AND MIMICS: EXPERIENCE FROM A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

BAckground: Interstitial Lung Diseases (ILDs) is a diverse group of lung diseases, associated with inflammation and fibrotic changes in the lung interstitium. The etiology of these diseases is multifactorial including idiopathic disorders, associated with connective tissue diseases, due to environmental and occupational exposure and drug related. According to some studies Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is more prevalent form of ILD but connective tissue disease-associated ILD (CTD-ILD), hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) are more common in areas where occupational or environmental exposures are high. This study aims to investigate the distribution of subtypes of ILD among patients presenting to a tertiary care hospital setting. Methods: This is a retrospective study which was conducted at the Department of Pulmonology, Shaikh Zayed Hospital, FPGMI, Lahore. All 138 patients diagnosed with ILD between January 2021 and December 2024 were included in the study. Results: The number of patients enrolled in the study was 138, having ages ranging from 25 to 82 years, with the most frequent diagnoses being hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) at 27.5%, rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD) at 15.9%, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) at 11.6%, and sarcoidosis at 10.1%. In patients with HP, avian exposure was the predominant etiological factor, seen in 63.1% of patients. In patients with IPF, all patients were older than 55 years, whereas sarcoidosis was more common in those aged between 25 and 50 years. Conclusion: Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) and rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD) are the most prevalent form of ILD in our population.