Introduction: Multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings are recommended as the gold standard for interstitial lung disease (ILD) diagnosis. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has made face-to-face MDTs challenging, forcing teams to adapt. ILD diagnosis in the post-COVID era will likely involve virtual MDTs (vMDTs), improving collaboration between specialists and centres.

Aims: The study, funded by Boehringer Ingelheim, aimed to identify key characteristics of ILD caseload and changes to MDTs in the post-COVID era.

Methods: Physicians involved in the diagnosis of ILDs were invited to participate in a standardised international survey from September 2022 to January 2023. 363 centres from 64 countries participated.

Results: 57.9% of centres reported a change in MDT format since the pandemic. 59.2% had virtual or hybrid meetings. Changing MDT format did not increase the frequency of meetings (57.9%), however, 89.6% of respondents found a virtual platform allowed healthcare professionals from outside of their centre to regularly participate in MDTs. 71.3% of centres reported an increase in referrals after/during the pandemic. Of total ILD cases/year, median [IQR] 30% [24%] were IPF referrals, 30% [20%] were PF-ILD, 5% [7%] were post-COVID ILD, and 20% [33%] were other ILDs. 73.8% of respondents had seen a change to the risk in exacerbation, progression, or death in patients with pre-existing ILD after COVID-19 infection.

Conclusions: Most centres are facing increased ILD referrals and have adapted their ILD MDT format to a virtual platform. The move to vMDTs may aid ILD diagnosis and management, especially improve delayed assessment in regional non-ILD centres.