Tuberc Respir Dis.  2024 Apr;87(2):134-144. 10.4046/trd.2023.0117.

Interstitial Lung Abnormality in Asian Population

• Jin GY

• KMID: 2553772
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2023.0117

Abstract

Interstitial lung abnormalities (ILAs) are radiologic abnormalities found incidentally on chest computed tomography (CT) that can be show a wide range of diseases, from subclinical lung fibrosis to early pulmonary fibrosis including definitive usual interstitial pneumonia. To clear up confusion about ILA, the Fleischner society published a position paper on the definition, clinical symptoms, increased mortality, radiologic progression, and management of ILAs based on several Western cohorts and articles. Recently, studies on long-term outcome, risk factors, and quantification of ILA to address the confusion have been published in Asia. The incidence of ILA was 7% to 10% for Westerners, while the prevalence of ILA was about 4% for Asians. ILA is closely related to various respiratory symptoms or increased rate of treatment-related complication in lung cancer. There is little difference between Westerners and Asians regarding the clinical importance of ILA. Although the role of quantitative CT as a screening tool for ILA requires further validation and standardized imaging protocols, using a threshold of 5% in at least one zone demonstrated 67.6% sensitivity, 93.3% specificity, and 90.5% accuracy, and a 1.8% area threshold showed 100% sensitivity and 99% specificity in South Korea. Based on the position paper released by the Fleischner society, I would like to report how much ILA occurs in the Asian population, what the prognosis is, and review what management strategies should be pursued in the future.

Keyword

Interstitial Lung Abnormalities; Interstitial Lung Disease; Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis; Prognosis