The Role of HRCT in Evaluation of Thoracic Manifestations of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Introduction: RA is a common collagen vascular disease that affects 1-2% of the general population. In nearly 50% of patients with RA, there is some form of extra-articular involvement in the disease process. Pulmonary complications of RA include pleural thickening or effusion, bronchiectasis, ILD, obliterative bronchiolitis, follicular bronchiolitis, pulmonary nodules, pulmonary hypertension, and lung infections. Patients and Methods: This study involved 20 patients; 14 females and 6 males, age range 16-64 years (average of 48 years). All patients were known cases of RA presenting with dyspnea and cough. HRCT chest was performed in all patients. Results: HRCT was able to detect 2 forms of pulmonary involvement: Either airway disease in the form of hyperinflation, bronchiectasis, mosaic perfusion and bronchial wall thickening or ILD in the form of GGO, reticulations, and cysts. Conclusion: Role of HRCT imaging in the evaluation and diagnosis of patients with intra-thoracic manifestations of RA is central, being accurate and non-invasive.