Recognising Interstitial Lung Disease

Interstitial lung disease is the collective name given to over 200 different types of parenchymal lung disorders (Demedts et al, 2001) (these are disorders that affect the functioning parts of an organ — in this case the lungs — as opposed to the structural elements, such as connective tissue etc). They are different from the more common respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma in that they affect the alveoli, small airways, interstitium and surrounding capillary circulation. Interstitial lung disease causes scarring, which makes it difficult for oxygen to diffuse into the circulating blood, resulting in breathlessness.