Computed tomographic findings in non-specific interstitial pneumonia/fibrosis.

The entity of non-specific interstitial pneumonia/fibrosis (NIP) has recently been recognized as an addition to the current classification of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia, which includes usual interstitial pneumonia, desquamative interstitial pneumonia, diffuse alveolar damage, and bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia. We studied the computed tomographic (CT) findings of nine NIP patients who were diagnosed pathologically. The main findings were ground glass opacities (66.7%), airspace consolidation (88.9%) and reticular opacities (89.7%), distributed predominantly in the bilateral and lower lung. In all cases, the clinical and abnormal opacification observed on the chest CT was improved by the administration of corticosteroid. Both the subpleural and patchy distributed opacifications predominantly in the bilateral and lower lung, and the good response to treatment may help to differentiate non-specific interstitial pneumonia from other types of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia.