BMC Pulmonary Medicine (Apr 2023)

Can transbronchial lung cryobiopsy benefit adaptive treatment strategies in connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease?

  • Hideaki Yamakawa,
  • Tamiko Takemura,
  • Shintaro Sato,
  • Makiko Takatsuka,
  • Hiroki Ohta,
  • Tomotaka Nishizawa,
  • Tomohiro Oba,
  • Rie Kawabe,
  • Keiichi Akasaka,
  • Masanobu Horikoshi,
  • Masako Amano,
  • Kazuyoshi Kuwano,
  • Hidekazu Matsushima

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12890-023-02429-0
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 23, no. 1
pp. 1 – 9

Abstract

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Abstract Background Some patients with connective tissue disease (CTD)-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD) progress to pulmonary fibrosis over their disease course despite initial improvement, potentially indicating a poor prognosis. Transbronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBLC) is a new bioptic approach used in diffuse parenchymal lung diseases. This study of CTD-ILD assessed the utility of TBLC in determining therapeutic decision-making strategies. Methods We analyzed medical records of 31 consecutive CTD-ILD patients who underwent TBLC focusing on radio-pathological correlation and disease course. A TBLC-based usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) score was used that assessed three morphologic descriptors: i) patchy fibrosis, ii) fibroblastic foci, and iii) honeycombing. Results Among the patients with CTD-ILD, 3 had rheumatoid arthritis, 2 systemic sclerosis, 5 polymyositis/dermatomyositis, 8 anti-synthetase syndrome, 6 Sjögren’s syndrome, and 5 had microscopic polyangiitis. Pulmonary function test results showed a mean %FVC of 82.4% and %DLCO of 67.7%. Among the 10 CTD patients and TBLC-proven pathological UIP, 3 patients had prominent inflammatory cells in addition to a framework of UIP, and pulmonary function of most patients improved with anti-inflammatory agents. Six (40%) of 15 patients with TBLC-based UIP score ≥ 1 had a progressive disease course during follow-up, of whom 4 patients received anti-fibrotic agents. Conclusions TBLC in patients with CTD-ILD can help determine an appropriate medication strategy, particularly when UIP-like lesions are present. TBLC may be useful when judging which agents to prioritize, anti-inflammatory or anti-fibrotic, is difficult. Moreover, additional information from TBLC may be beneficial when considering early intervention with anti-fibrotic agents in clinical practice.

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