The Hospitalized Patient with Interstitial Lung Disease: A Hospitalist Primer.

Abstract

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a diverse group of disorders typically with insidious onset. Diagnosis and management largely occur in the outpatient setting; however, ILD can present acutely necessitating hospitalization. Effective inpatient management requires the clinician to establish an accurate diagnosis and understand the natural history and treatment responsiveness of each ILD subtype. We propose a general framework for approaching the evaluation of hospitalized patients with ILD, and provide focused guidance on key inpatient diagnostic and management decisions.