Can CT distinguish hypersensitivity pneumonitis from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis?
OBJECTIVE. The clinical management of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis differs markedly from that of patients with hypersensitivity pneumonitis. However, the two diseases often cannot be differentiated on clinical grounds. The purpose of this study was to establish whether CT can be used to make the distinction. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Thirty-six patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and 27 patients with hypersensitivity pneumonitis were studied. All diagnoses were confirmed or supported by open lung biopsy. Three of the patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis had desquamative interstitial pneumonia, and the remainder had usual interstitial pneumonia. In 19 of the 27 patients with hypersensitivity pneumonitis, the disease was chronic (symptoms lasting more than 1 year), while eight had acute or subacute symptoms. Two radiologists, who had not previously seen any of the cases and were blinded to the diagnosis, reviewed the CT images by consensus. The extent and distr
The clinical management of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis differs markedly from that of patients with hypersensitivity pneumonitis. However, the two diseases often cannot be differentiated on clinical grounds. The purpose of this study was to establish whether CT can be used to make the distinction.
