“We think this is a very novel finding. It means that patients with IPAF [interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features] should be followed and evaluated by rheumatologists over time,” said Dr. Alevizos, who was a rheumatology fellow at Columbia University in New York at the time of the study.

The natural history of IPAF is largely unknown, which was the impetus for Dr. Alevizos’ study. He presented a single-center, retrospective study of 697 patients diagnosed with interstitial lung disease, 174 of whom had idiopathic interstitial lung disease at baseline. Fifty of the 174 met criteria for IPAF, while the other 124 did not.

During a median follow-up of 5.2 years, 8 of the 50 patients with IPAF (16%) were diagnosed with a systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease, as were 2 of the 124 non-IPAF group (1.6%). In an analysis adjusted for age, sex, smoking status, and immunosuppressive therapy at baseline, patients with IPAF were 14.1 times more likely to progress to an autoimmune rheumatic disease.

bjancin@mdedge.com

SOURCE: Alevizos M et al. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2018;70(Suppl 10), Abstract 1305.