Desquamative Interstitial Pneumonia

Excerpt

Cigarette smoking has a causal association with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bronchogenic carcinoma, and additionally, cigarette smoking has been attributed to the development and natural history of distinct forms of lung parenchymal disease involving interstitium.

Smoking-Related Interstitial Lung Disease (SR- ILD)

1. Pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis (PLCH)

2. Respiratory-bronchiolitis-associated interstitial lung disease (RB-ILD)

3. Desquamative interstitial pneumonia (DIP)

The 2013 American Thoracic Society and European Respiratory Society statement classified RB-ILD and DIP as smoking-related idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (SR-IIP).

RB-ILD and DIP are different entities and not two junctures in a continuum, based on their distinct clinical presentation, radiographic features, histology, response to treatment, and prognosis.

Histologically, DIP is characterized by an alveolar accumulation of macrophages followed by interstitial inflammation and fibrosis.