RESPIRATORY BRONCHIOLITIS WITH INTERSTITIAL LUNG-DISEASE

Respiratory bronchiolitis is a lesion that occurs mainly in cigarette smokers. Although it is frequently an incidental finding in surgical specimens, it also can cause clinically significant diffuse interstitial lung disease (RB-ILD). The clinical findings are nonspecific and overlap with those seen in IPF. Patients with RB-ILD frequently respond to smoking cessation alone and have a good prognosis. RB-ILD should be separated from other causes of IPF because of important differences in natural history and outcome. RB-ILD, DIP, and pulmonary eosinophilic granuloma all represent potential consequences of cigarette smoking; however, the precise relationship between these entities remains unresolved.