Cone-Beam Computed Tomography Improves Location of Transbronchial Cryobiopsy in Interstitial Lung Disease with Limited Extent.

Introduction: Transbronchial lung cryobiopsy has been recommended as an acceptable alternative to surgical approach for making a histopathological diagnosis in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) of undetermined type. In limited diseases (especially if distributed along the subpleural region), sampling the specific area in which the pathological process is more represented could be challenging. Aim of the study was to determine the potential benefit of utilizing cone-beam computed tomography-guided cryobiopsy in patients with limited extent of ILD on CT scan and determine the single impact of each sequential biopsy progressively increasing the total number of biopsies.

Histogram-based analysis in progressive pulmonary fibrosis: relationships between pulmonary functional tests and HRCT indexes.

Objectives: To investigate relationships between histogram-based high-resolution CT (HRCT) indexes and pulmonary function tests (PFTs) in interstitial lung diseases.

Methods: Forty-nine patients having baseline and 1-year HRCT examinations and PFTs were investigated. Histogram-based HRCT indexes were calculated; strength of associations with PFTs was investigated using Pearson correlation.

A New Method for the Assessment of Myalgia in Interstitial Lung Disease: Association with Positivity for Myositis-Specific and Myositis-Associated Antibodies.

In this study, it was found that myositis-specific and myositis-associated antibodies (MSAs and MAAs) improved the recognition of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) in interstitial lung disease (ILD) patients. The objective of this study is to propose a clinical method to evaluate myalgia in respiratory settings as a possible tool for the recognition of MSA/MAA positivity in ILD patients. We prospectively enrolled 167 ILD patients with suspected myositis, of which 63 had myalgia evoked at specific points (M+ILD+).

"Usual" interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features: a prospective study on a cohort of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients.

Objectives: The classification interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF) includes patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) associated with autoimmune characteristics insufficient to reach classification criteria for a specific autoimmune disease (SAD). These criteria are divided into three domains: clinical, serological and morphological. The latter domain does not include the usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern, which is deemed not to be significantly associated with SAD.

Pulmonary Vasculitides: A Radiological Review Emphasizing Parenchymal HRCT Features.

Vasculitides represent a heterogeneous group of immune-mediated disorders, characterized by a systemic inflammatory destructive process of the blood vessels resulting either in ischemia or hemorrhage. The organ involved and vessel size influence the pattern of presentation of the pathology. The lung is commonly involved in systemic vasculitides, with heterogeneous clinical, radiological, and histopathological presentations.

The Model for Early COvid-19 Recognition (MECOR) Score: A Proof-of-Concept for a Simple and Low-Cost Tool to Recognize a Possible Viral Etiology in Community-Acquired Pneumonia Patients during COVID-19 Outbreak.

This study aims to assess the peripheral blood cell count "signature" of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to discriminate promptly between COronaVIrus Disease 19 (COVID-19) and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). We designed a retrospective case-control study, enrolling 525 patients (283 COVID-19 and 242 with CAP). All patients had a fever and at least one of the following signs: cough, chest pain, or dyspnea.

Nailfold Videocapillaroscopy is a Useful Tool to Recognize Definite Forms of Systemic Sclerosis and Idiopathic Inflammatory Myositis in Interstitial Lung Disease Patients.

Nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC) is an easy tool used for the assessment of patients with Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) as possibly associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Recent insights have also highlighted its role in the diagnostic assessment of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs). The aim of this study is to describe the diagnostic role of NVC in a series of 361 consecutive patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD).