1.Introduction

The area of the affected lung parenchyma can influence mortality in any interstitial lung disease (ILD), so we  analysed three groups  - rheumatoid arthritis (RA) associated ILD, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and idiopathic non-specific interstitial pneumonia (iNSIP) to identify measurable  HRCT features.

2. Methods

All  patients referred to MDTs with RA-ILD, iNSIP and IPF  between 2016 - 2022, with  high quality HRCT scans (both  in- and expiration) were  included in our study. 17 RA-ILD, 26 iNSIP and 72 IPF patients were identified. The scans were analyzed using the Syngo Via (vs60) PulmoAnalysis software, calculating areas of increased density. Data was analyzed using usual statistical methods.

3. Results

Lung parenchyma was evaluated by the percentage of opacity, opacity score and other relating values. In RA-ILD cases lower opacity percentage was detected compared to IPF and iNSIP cases (mean value of 10,04% vs 25,1% and 19,1% during inspiration in both lungs). This data was compared to concurrent pulmonary function test results.

4. Conclusions

The software aided data collection correlates well with clinical severity but further studies need to evaluate its position in the management of ILD patients.