Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: evaluation with positron emission tomography.

Background: The pathogenesis of interstitial lung disease remains under investigation, but may be related to increased inflammatory or cellular activity. This activity may be detectable with physiologic imaging.

Objectives: We investigated the role of physiologic imaging using (18)F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose ((18)FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) scans in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).