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Restrictive lung diseases are a category of extrapulmonary, pleural, or parenchymal respiratory diseases that restrict lung expansion, [2] resulting in a decreased lung volume, an increased work of breathing, and inadequate ventilation and/or oxygenation. Pulmonary function test demonstrates a decrease in the forced vital capacity.
The condition only causes symptoms if the visceral pleura is affected. [5] Although fibrothorax may not cause any symptoms, people affected by the disorder may report shortness of breath . [ 6 ] Persistent, recurrent pleural effusions are a possible symptom, caused by the persistent cavity formed by the hardening pleura around the original ...
Causes include environmental pollution, certain medications, connective tissue diseases, infections, and interstitial lung diseases. [1] [3] [6] But in most cases the cause is unknown (idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis). [1] [3] Diagnosis may be based on symptoms, medical imaging, lung biopsy, and lung function tests. [1]
Exposure to coal dust is the cause of coalworker's pneumoconiosis, also called "black lung disease", is an interstitial lung disease caused by long-term exposure (over 10 years) to coal dust. Symptoms include shortness of breath and lowered pulmonary function. It can be fatal when advanced.
While a lung biopsy is the gold standard, some clinicians opt against this due to the risks of the procedure. Lung biopsies performed on patients with NSIP reveal two different disease patterns – cellular and fibrosing – which are associated with different prognoses. The cellular pattern displays chronic inflammation with minimal fibrosis.
The role of non-invasive ventilation is limited to the very early period of the disease or to prevent worsening respiratory distress in individuals with atypical pneumonias, lung bruising, or major surgery patients, who are at risk of developing ARDS. Treatment of the underlying cause is crucial.
Radiation-induced lung injury (RILI) is a general term for damage to the lungs as a result of exposure to ionizing radiation. [1] In general terms, such damage is divided into early inflammatory damage ( radiation pneumonitis ) and later complications of chronic scarring ( radiation fibrosis ).
Differential diagnosis includes non-specific interstitial pneumonia, pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis, respiratory bronchiolitis-associated interstitial lung disease, and hypersensitivity pneumonia. DIP is primarily treated by quitting smoking, but it may not be enough in all cases. In moderate to severe cases, corticosteroids are used.