Rheumatoid Lung Disease

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" Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lung Disease

If you have rheumatoid arthritis (RA), there is some chance that

sometime in the course of your disease, you may have some lung

involvement. One of the most frequent lung problems with RA is

interstitial lung disease. The disease process of lung scarring

(fibrosis) in RA is similar to that of IPF. It is estimated that up to

20% of patients with RA may have some degree of lung scarring or

fibrosis with their rheumatoid disease which shows up on a chest x-ray.

An even higher percentage of patients with RA have some decrease in

their lung functions which may go unnoticed unless pulmonary function

tests are performed. Therefore, if you have RA, it is a good idea to

have an evaluation of your lungs done. The majority of cases of

interstitial lung disease associated with RA occur in the 50 to 60 year

range.

The fibrosis or lung scarring associated with RA is similar to that

described for IPF. The same type of lung damage as with IPF, described

above, can occur with progressive lung disease in RA. The main goal of

therapy in this disease is to arrest the fibrosis or lung scarring

process. Again, prednisone is the drug used to do this. The same type of

lung function tests, bronchoscopy with lavage and chest x-ray tests

should be done if you have been diagnosed as having lung fibrosis

associated with RA. "

Source:

" Iowa Health Book: Internal Medicine

Interstitial Lung Diseases: Introduction and Chapter One " :

http://www.vh.org/Patients/IHB/IntMed/Pulmonary/InterstitialLungDz/ILD1.html

" Rheumatoid Lung Disease " from Medlineplus:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000113.htm

" The Dailylung.com guide to the

Lung Manifestations of Rheumatoid Arthritis " :

http://www.dailylung.com/RheumatoidLung.htm