Rheumatoid Lung Disease, also called Rheumatoid Lung is a disease of the lung associated with rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks synovial joints. The process produces an inflammatory response of the synovium secondary to hyperplasia of synovial cells, excess synovial fluid, and the development...

. It is estimated that about one quarter of people with rheumatoid arthritis develop Rheumatoid Lung Disease.

Symptoms

Symptoms of rheumatoid lung are as follows (commonest first):

• Pleural involvement (pleurisy, effusions)
• Pulmonary parenchymal nodules
• Rheumatoid-associated interstitial lung disease
• Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia
• Obliterative bronchiolitis (obstructive lung disease/bronchiectasis)
• Rheumatoid-associated pulmonary hypertension
• Pulmonary vasculitis/arteritis
• Shrinking lung syndrome
• Miscellaneous: MTX, cricoarytenoid arthritis, infection, cancer

Rheumatoid lung is separate from but often associated with Interstitial lung disease.