|
Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonia
The diagnostic approach to IIPs has continued to evolve, with international expert guidelines recommending a dynamic interactive diagnostic process involving clinicians, radiologists, and pathologists. Flaherty and colleagues examined such an iterative approach among three expert clinicians, two radiologists, and two pathologists in evaluating 58 consecutive patients with IIP. Data were reviewed by all participants in an incremental fashion. Interobserver agreement improved as additional data were provided and interaction occurred. This was particularly evident with the inclusion of histopathologic data. Patients with typical clinical and radiologic features of IPF may not require surgical lung biopsy, although in non-IPF IIPs, surgical lung biopsy frequently led to a change in final diagnosis. These data support that an iterative approach among expert diagnosticians may be an optimal diagnostic approach to IIPs.
1 Citation displayed.
Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonia: What Is the Effect of a Multidisciplinary Approach to Diagnosis?
- Kevin R. Flaherty, Talmadge E. King, Jr., Ganesh Raghu, Joseph P. Lynch, III, Thomas V. Colby, William D. Travis, Barry H. Gross, Ella A. Kazerooni, Galen B. Toews, Qi Long, Susan Murray, Vibha N. Lama, Steven E. Gay, and Fernando J. Martinez
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 170: 904 -910. First published online as doi:10.1164/rccm.200402-147OC
[Abstract]
[Full text]
|
|
