Role of Lung Ultrasound (LU) in early diagnosis of Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).

Abstract

Objective: To determine role of lung Ultrasound in Early Diagnosis of ILD in Patients with RA. Study Design: Observational Prospective study. Setting: Madina Teaching Hospital (MTH), University Medical and Dental College Faisalabad (UMDC). Period: July 2022 to December 2022. Methods: Adults with a diagnosis of RA and signs and symptoms of ILD in RA who were included. Lung function testing and diagnostic imaging were carried out. Results: The research comprised a total of 141 participants, consisting of 55 (39%) males and 86 (61%) females, with an average age of 51.92±12.15 years. The majority of the participants were positive for Rh factor, namely 112 out of 79% of the individuals examined. Mean duration of rheumatoid arthritis was 15.8 ± 10.4 years. Analysis of the patients' medical records revealed that 51.1% individuals had a documented history of smoking. Of all the patients, 60 people (42.6%) were using glucocorticoids. ILD was detected by HRCT in 108 of the 141 patients in the study group, representing a 76.6% prevalence. The LUS detected symptoms of ILD in 101 out of 141 individuals, representing a percentage of 71.6%. Concordance among LUS and HRCT was 66.7%. The sensitivity for LUS was 75%, while the specificity was 39.39%. Conclusion: The results show that LUS is a valuable method for identifying ILD in RA patients and is capable of accurately predicting the occurrence of ILD in these patients. Larger cohorts, the test's cost-efficiency, and the usefulness of LUS in the follow-up of patients who have already been diagnosed with ILD should all be assessed in future research.