Table 1

Pathologic patterns in interstitial lung disease

Pattern

Pathologic findings

Associated outcome

Acute interstitial pneumonia

Diffuse alveolar damage with hyaline membrane formation

>90% mortality at 30 days

Cryptogenic organizing pneumonia or bronchiolitis obliterans with organizing Pneumonia

Intraluminal fibromyxoid tissue in the terminal and respiratory bronchioles

Good response to steroids

Nonspecific interstitial pneumonia

Temporally and spatially homogeneous inflammatory injury with and without fibrosis

Good response except with fibrosing variant

Usual interstitial pneumonia

Temporally heterogeneous, subpleural inflammatory injury with fibrosis and honeycombing

Less responsive to immunosuppressant therapies

Danoff and Casciola-Rosen Arthritis Research & Therapy 2011 13:230   doi:10.1186/ar3347