Nonspecific interstitial pneumonia associated with collagen vascular disease: analysis of CT features to distinguish the various types

Elevated baseline serum creatine kinase in Thai early systemic sclerosis patients is associated with high incidence of cardiopulmonary complications and poor survival: an inception cohort study

BACKGROUND

Inception cohort data regarding the incidence of cardiopulmonary complications in early systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients comparing those with and without elevated baseline creatine kinase (CK) are limited. This study aimed to compare the incidence of cardiopulmonary complications and survival between the two subgroups.

METHODS

We used an inception cohort study of early SSc patients seen at the Rheumatology Clinic, Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital, Thailand, from January 2010 to December 2019. All patients were assessed for clinical manifestations and CK levels and underwent echocardiography and HRCT at the study entry and annually thereafter.

RESULTS

A total of 144 SSc patients (84 female, 115 diffuse cutaneous SSc (DcSSc)) with a mean disease duration of 11.9 ± 9.2 months were enrolled. At cohort entry, their mean ± SD CK levels were 364.3 ± 598.0 U/L. The participants were then divided into two subgroups: (i) 29 SSc with elevated CK (baseline CK ≥ 500 U/L); (ii) 115 SSc with non-elevated CK. At enrollment, the elevated CK group was characterized by a higher proportion of male gender, DcSSc subtype, arthritis, and weakness; shorter disease duration; and higher MRSS compared with non-elevated CK. At the last visit, with a mean ± SD follow-up duration of 6.2 ± 2.7 years, the elevated CK group showed a higher cumulative prevalence of weakness, dysphagia, LVEF < 50%, and suspected myocardial disease; higher incidence of LVEF < 50%, suspected myocardial disease, and ILD; and shorter survival time.

CONCLUSION

It was found in our study cohort that elevated baseline serum CK in early SSc, of which majority were DcSSc subtype, is associated with more severe clinical presentation, higher incidence of cardiopulmonary complications, and shorter survival time compared with the non-elevated CK subgroup. Key Points • In early SSc patients, elevated baseline serum creatine kinase was confirmed to be associated with a high incidence of cardiac and ILD complications, and poor long-term survival time. • Careful evaluation of baseline serum CK levels in all early-diagnosed SSc patients is crucial in general clinical practice.

Spontaneous Pneumo-Mediastinum in a Post-COVID-19 Patient with Systemic Sclerosis

Pulmonary involvement is the most common cause of death among patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is particularly problematic to manage in SSc patients since they may experience a more severe evolution of COVID-19 due to the pre-existent interstitial lung disease (ILD) and the administration of immunosuppressive treatments. In addition, the remarkable radiological similarities between SSc-ILD and COVID-19 complicate the differential diagnosis between these two entities. Herein, we present the first case of spontaneous pneumo-mediastinum in a post-COVID-19 patient with SSc. In our patient, both smoking and pulmonary fibrosis could lead to cyst formation, which possibly spontaneously broke and caused pneumo-mediastinum. Moreover, megaesophagus perforation due to the smooth muscle atrophy, replacement with fibrosis, and achalasia may extend into the mediastinum or pleural space and has also been described as a rare case of spontaneous pneumo-pericardium. Finally, spontaneous pneumo-mediastinum and pneumothorax have been recently reported as an established complication of severe COVID-19 pneumonia and among COVID-19 long-term complication. This case report underlines that the worsening of respiratory symptoms in SSc patients, especially when recovered from COVID-19, requires further investigations for ruling out other tentative diagnoses besides the evolution of the SSc-ILD.

Pulmonary hypertension phenotypes in patients with systemic sclerosis

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) commonly affects patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and is associated with significant morbidity and increased mortality. PH is a heterogenous condition and several different forms can be associated with SSc, including pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) resulting from a pulmonary arterial vasculopathy, PH due to left heart disease and PH due to interstitial lung disease. The incidence of pulmonary veno-occlusive disease is also increased. Accurate and early diagnosis to allow optimal treatment is, therefore, essential. Recent changes to diagnostic haemodynamic criteria at the 6th World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension have resulted in therapeutic uncertainty regarding patients with borderline pulmonary haemodynamics. Furthermore, the optimal pulmonary vascular resistance threshold for diagnosing PAH and the role of exercise in identifying early disease require further elucidation. In this article we review the epidemiology, diagnosis, outcomes and treatment of the spectrum of pulmonary vascular phenotypes associated with SSc.

Interstitial lung disease pathology in systemic sclerosis

Interstitial lung disease is a relatively frequent manifestation of systemic sclerosis with approximately one-third of patients developing clinical restrictive lung disease. Fibrotic nonspecific interstitial pneumonia is the most common cause of diffuse parenchymal lung disease in patients with systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD), followed by usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP). Radiographic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis-like changes may accompany other forms of interstitial lung disease, most commonly UIP. In an appropriate clinical setting with supportive high-resolution computed tomography findings, lung biopsy is not needed to confirm the presence of interstitial lung disease and surgical lung biopsies are often reserved for atypical presentations. In this review, we discuss the histological findings that define the most common patterns of SSc-ILD and outline other findings sometimes encountered in lung biopsies obtained from systemic sclerosis patients, including pulmonary vascular changes, aspiration, chronic pleuritis, and diffuse alveolar damage.

Detection, screening, and classification of interstitial lung disease in patients with systemic sclerosis

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) associates with disease burden and reduced life expectancy in systemic sclerosis (SSc). As ILD afflicts around 50% of SSc patients and is often present from early on, there is rationale for early and universal ILD screening. With the approval of the first SSc-ILD therapy last year, there is an increasing need for ILD classifications to assign the right treatment to the right patient. Here, we discuss recent advances on screening, detection, and classification of SSc-ILD.

RECENT FINDINGS

Although prospective datasets from a nationwide population-based SSc cohort confirm insufficient sensitivity of pulmonary function tests (PFTs) for ILD screening, they provide strong support for lung high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) as the primary tool to detect ILD. Lung ultrasound shows promise as an additional screening tool. Interpreting statements from a new European consensus on SSc-ILD management, we propose an urgent need for integrated SSc classification, grading ILD severity at time of diagnosis and evaluate risk for ILD progression. We discuss advances on potential parameters for such classification, including PFTs, quantitative HRCT analyses, patient-reported outcome measures, functional exercise capacity tests, and soluble biomarkers.

SUMMARY

Early screening to diagnose ILD is feasible. With new therapies at hand, there is a need for integrated ILD classification including severity grading and risk for progression.

Systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease

Systemic sclerosis is an autoimmune connective tissue disease, which is characterised by immune dysregulation and progressive fibrosis that typically affects the skin, with variable internal organ involvement. It is a rare condition that affects mostly young and middle-aged women, resulting in disproportionate morbidity and mortality. Currently, interstitial lung disease is the most common cause of death among patients with systemic sclerosis, with a prevalence of up to 30% and a 10-year mortality of up to 40%. Interstitial lung disease is more common among African Americans and in people with the diffuse cutaneous form of systemic sclerosis or anti-topoisomerase 1 antibodies. Systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease most commonly presents with dyspnoea, cough, and a non-specific interstitial pneumonia pattern on CT scan, with a minority of cases fulfilling the criteria for usual interstitial pneumonia. The standard therapy has traditionally been combinations of immunosuppressants, particularly mycophenolate mofetil or cyclophosphamide. These immunosuppressants can be supplemented by targeted biological and antifibrotic therapies, whereas autologous haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation and lung transplantation are reserved for refractory cases.

Pulmonary Manifestations of Systemic Sclerosis and Mixed Connective Tissue Disease

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare disease characterized by widespread collagen deposition resulting in fibrosis. Although skin involvement is the most common manifestation and also the one that determines the classification of disease, mortality in SSc is usually a result of respiratory compromise in the form of interstitial lung disease (ILD) or pulmonary hypertension (PH). Clinically significant ILD is seen in up to 40% of patients and PH in up to 20%. Treatment with either cyclophosphamide or mycophenolate has been shown to delay disease progression, whereas rituximab and lung transplantation are reserved for refractory cases.

Differential clinical features of patients with clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis who have circulating anti-MDA5 autoantibodies with or without myositis-associated autoantibodies

BACKGROUND

Anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) autoantibodies have been identified as myositis-specific autoantibodies that are often associated with clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis (CADM) and a poor prognosis due to rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RP-ILD) in East Asian patients. Besides anti-MDA5 autoantibodies, patients with CADM may have myositis-associated autoantibodies (MAAs), which characterize other connective tissue diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Sjögren's syndrome. However, the clinical significance of the coexistence of anti-MDA5 autoantibodies and MAAs in patients with CADM remains unclear.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed 24 patients with CADM who had anti-MDA5 autoantibodies. Their clinical phenotypes including laboratory test results, high-resolution lung computed tomography data, response to therapy, and prognosis were compared between those who were positive and negative for MAAs, such as antinuclear antibody (ANA), anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP), anti-SSA, and anti-SSB antibodies.

RESULTS

Among 24 patients, 9 (37.5%) additionally had at least one of the MAAs examined in this study: 1 patient was positive for ANA, 5 for anti-CCP, 5 for either anti-SSA or anti-SSB, 1 for anti-cardiolipin, and 1 for anti-Scl-70. Although all anti-MDA5-positive patients with CADM had ILD, the MAA-positive patients showed a lower risk of developing RP-ILD (p = 0.03), a more favorable response to combination therapy of corticosteroids and immunosuppressive agents, and a lower mortality rate than patients with no MAAs (p = 0.03).

CONCLUSIONS

Our data suggest that anti-MDA5-positive patients with CADM who also have MAAs have a better prognosis than those without MAAs; thus, anti-MDA5 autoantibodies by themselves may not be strong predictors of worse clinical outcomes in patients with CADM. Coexistent MAAs could be biomarkers for a favorable prognosis in anti-MDA5-positive patients with CADM.

CT Features of the Usual Interstitial Pneumonia Pattern: Differentiating Connective Tissue Disease-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease From Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

OBJECTIVE

A substantial proportion of cases of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) are due to connective tissue disease (CTD)-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD). The purpose of this study was to determine whether specific CT findings can help differentiate a UIP pattern of CTD-ILD from a UIP pattern of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and whether these signs are associated with survival.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Adults visiting an ILD clinic from 2006 to 2015 enrolled in a research registry with a multidisciplinary diagnosis of CTD-ILD or IPF and a UIP pattern at high-resolution CT were included in the study. In these subjects with CT findings of UIP due to either IPF or CTD-ILD, three CT findings anecdotally associated with CTD-ILD were assessed for diagnostic accuracy: the "straight-edge" sign, the "exuberant honeycombing" sign, and the "anterior upper lobe" sign. Survival assessments were performed with univariate and multivariable techniques.

RESULTS

The subjects included 63 patients who had CTD-ILD and 133 patients who had IPF with a UIP pattern at CT. All three CT signs were significantly more common in subjects with CTD-ILD than those with IPF (prevalence, 22.2-25.4% for CTD-ILD, 6.0-12.8% for IPF; p = 0.028 to < 0.001). The highest specificity (94.0%) and sensitivity (25.4%) were seen for the straight-edge sign. No CT sign was associated with survival in multivariable analysis.

CONCLUSION

Although UIP is usually associated with IPF, the index of suspicion for CTD-ILD should be raised in the care of patients with any of the three CT signs. A thorough workup for CTD-ILD should be pursued, including referral to the rheumatology department.

Treatment response and long term follow-up results of nonspecific interstitial pneumonia

The purpose of this study was to investigate the long-term clinical course of non-specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) and to determine which factors are associated with a response to steroid therapy and relapse. Thirty-five patients with pathologically proven NSIP were included. Clinical, radiological, and laboratory data were reviewed retrospectively. The male-to-female ratio was 7:28 (median age, 52 yr). Thirty (86%) patients responded to steroid therapy, and the median follow-up was 55.2 months (range, 15.9-102.0 months). Five patients (14%) showed sustained disease progression and three died despite treatment. In the five with sustained disease progression, NSIP was associated with various systemic conditions, and the seropositivity of fluorescent antinuclear antibody was significantly associated with a poor response to steroids (P = 0.028). The rate of relapse was 25%, but all relapsed patients improved after re-treatment. The initial dose of steroids was significantly low in the relapse group (P = 0.020). In conclusion, progression is associated with various systemic conditions in patients who show progression. A low dose of initial steroids is significantly associated with relapse.

Nonspecific interstitial pneumonia: prognostic significance of high-resolution computed tomography in 59 patients

OBJECTIVE

To retrospectively analyze the prognostic implications of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) findings for patients with biopsy-proven nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP).

METHODS

Fifty-nine patients with NSIP (25 idiopathic NSIP, 34 collagen-vascular disease-associated NSIP) were included. Two chest radiologists independently evaluated the extent, presence, and distribution of various HRCT findings. Cox hazards analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between HRCT findings and prognosis.

RESULTS

The 5-year survival rate was 83% and the 10-year survival rate was 66%. Univariate analysis revealed that the extent of areas with ground-glass attenuation without traction bronchi-bronchiolectasis and that of airs-pace consolidation were associated with favorable outcome, whereas that of intralobular reticular opacities was associated with worse prognosis. Multivariate analysis showed that the extent of air-space consolidation was an independent factor of favorable outcome.

CONCLUSION

In NSIP, the extent of areas with ground-glass attenuation without traction bronchi-bronchiolectasis, air-space consolidation, and intralobular reticular opacities correlate with survival.

Interstitial Lung Disease in Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy

The lung is one of the most common extra-muscular targets in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) and interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a prevalent and often devastating manifestation of IIM. IIM-associated ILD (IIM-ILD) contributes to nearly 80% of the mortality in IIM with a reported prevalence of 65% of newly diagnosed IIM cases. Although ILD frequently accompanies clinical and laboratory findings of myositis, overt signs of muscle disease may be absent in the setting of significant lung disease. Understanding the varied scope of presentation of these diseases is essential to providing optimal patient care. This review will provide an in depth examination of ILD in IIM both from a rheumatologic and pulmonary perspective and will discuss the scope of disease, presenting features, genetic associations, pathogenesis, diagnosis, radiographic and histopathologic findings, along with biomarker assessment and a rationale for therapeutic intervention.