This poster is published under an
open license. Please read the
disclaimer for further details.
Type:
Educational Exhibit
Keywords:
CT-High Resolution, Lung, Complications, Connective tissue disorders
Authors:
M. S. C. Rodrigues1, R. Correia1, A. Carvalho1, E. Padrão2, J. P. Loureiro1, J. Pereira2; 1Porto/PT, 2Braga/PT
DOI:
10.1594/ecr2015/C-1795
Background
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory disease that affects approximately 1% of the population.
Pleuropulmonary complications are frequent and responsible for a significant part of mortality associated with this disease.
Moreover,
despite the prevalence of other extra-articular manifestations is declining,
RA-associated lung disease is increasing.
Another interesting fact is that the lung involvement in RA is seen more commonly in men than women.
Pleuropulmonary manifestations of RA are varied,
including RA-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD),
pleural effusions,
rheumatoid nodules,
and airway involvement.
High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is used to characterise and establish the extent of these entities.
Although the diagnosis of these conditions implies clinicoradiological correlation and some need pathologic correlation,
the radiologic findings are important in the patient orientation.
Therefore,
the radiologist should be familiar with the spectrum of RA-associated lung disease.