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Abstract

The clinical, serological, and radiological profiles of interstitial lung disease in patients with autoimmune diseases vary significantly and are poorly studied. Objectives: To determine the clinical, serological and radiological profile of patients with autoimmune-associated interstitial lung disease. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out at the Department of Rheumatology, Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, during the period from 16th December 2023 to 15th December 2024. A total of 105 male and female patients in the age range of 40 to 80 years diagnosed with autoimmune-related interstitial lung disease were studied. History, clinical examination, blood tests and high-resolution computerized tomographic (HRCT) scan were performed to determine the clinical, serologic and radiologic features of AI-ILD. Results: The mean age of the participants was 51.51 ± 12.34 years. Female patients outnumbered men (n=61, 58.1%). Arthritis was most commonly recorded in 47 participants (44.8%) followed by skin rash (n=33, 31.4%). Antinuclear antibody (ANA) and anti-dsdna (double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid) constituted the most frequently found serological factors observed in 32 (30.5%) and 28 (26.7%) patients, respectively. Usual interstitial pneumonia was observed in 19 patients (17.4%), non-specific interstitial pneumonia in 36 (34.2%) and lymphoid interstitial pneumonia was recorded in 7 participants (6.7%). Conclusions: It was concluded that middle-aged women with inflammatory arthritis and skin rashes with rheumatoid arthritis as background disease were more likely to have interstitial lung disease. Serologic factors lack specificity. The most common radiological finding on HRCT was ground glass opacities and non-specific interstitial pneumonia as the most frequent radiological diagnosis.