Analysis of correlation between autoantibodies and imaging manifestations of interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features

Objective To summarize the clinical features of interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF) and to explore the correlation between autoantibodies and imaging findings. Methods IPAF patients hospitalized in the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from January 2015 to September 2018 were enrolled in this study, who met with the serology and imaging features.The clinical data were retrospectively analyzed. Results 517 patients with interstitial lung disease were collected in this study, including 78 cases of IPAF (15.1%). Most of the autoantibodies were antinuclear antibody (ANA)(48.7%) and anti-Ro-52 (47.4%). Non-specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) was the most common type of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) in the chest, accounting for 62.8%.Usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) was mainly seen in male (P=0.019) smokers (P=0.004). Patients with organized pneumonia (OP) were significantly younger than Patients with UIP (P=0.040) or NSIP (P=0.002). When the autoantibodies were positive for ANA (P<0.001) and anti-Ro-52 (P=0.011), the most common type of HRCT was NSIP.The incidence of mixed ventilation dysfunction in NSIP patients with OP was significantly higher than that in NSIP patients (P=0.020), and the incidence of diffusion dysfunction in NSIP patients was significantly higher than that in UIP patients (P=0.029). Conclusions When the autoantibodies are positive for ANA and anti-Ro-52, the HRCT type is mainly NSIP. Key words: Interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features; Autoantibodies; Imaging classification