Performance of Lung Ultrasound as a Screening Tool for Subclinical Rheumatoid Arthritis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease: A Multicenter Study.

Background: The screening strategy for interstitial lung disease (ILD) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis is currently debated. Although high-resolution CT (HRCT) imaging is the gold standard for diagnosing ILD, its systematic use as a screening tool is not yet recommended. The role of lung ultrasound (LUS) in assessing ILD has been previously explored.

Intravenous cyclophosphamide improves functional outcomes in interstitial lung disease related to idiopathic inflammatory myopathies.

Objective: To compare the efficacy, toxicity and glucocorticoid (GC)-sparing effects of intravenous cyclophosphamide (iv CYC) with other immunosuppressive regimes as the induction treatment for Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy-Related Interstitial Lung Disease (IIM-ILD).

Methods: Observational comparative study of patients with IIM-ILD from the EPIMAR and Cruces cohorts. The main efficacy outcome was a 6 to 12-month improvement >10% in the forced vital capacity (FVC) from baseline.