Nonspecific interstitial pneumonia: A clinical analysis of 7 cases

Objective To improve the clinical diagnosis and treatment of nonspecific interstitial pneumonia(NSIP) by studying its clinical characteristics and response to treatment. Methods Clinical data, including presentations, Chest CT scan findings, pathological examination and treatment, about 7 patients with pathology-proved NSIP admitted to our hospital from March 2007 to June 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. Results Of the 7 patients, 4 were females and 3 males with mean age of 49.1±17.3 years. They were mainly manifested as cough, dyspnea and velcro in both lower lungs. Chest CT scan revealed a bilateralpredominant process with patchy areas of ground-glass opacity, consolidation and reticular abnormality. Of the 7 patients who underwent lung biopsy, 3 were diagnosed with cellular NSIP, 3 with fibrotic NSIP and 1 with mixed NSIP. Lung function test showed restrictive ventilation dysfunction with diffusing capacity declined in 6 patients. Of these 6 patients, 3 were complicated by small airway dysfunction. The average PaO₂ of the 7 patients was 72.3±11.8 mmHg. Of the 6 patients who were treated with systemic corticosteroids, 5 were followed up, during which 3 with cellular NSIP had a good response to corticosteroid therapy and 2 with fibrotic NSIP had a poor response to corticosteroid therapy. Conclusion NSIP should be diagnosed according to its clinical manifestations, radiological and pathological examination. The effect of corticosteroid therapy on it depends on its pathological type and is good for cellular NSIP and poor for fibrotic NSIP.