| Abstract: |
The term interstitial lung disease (ILD), or diffuse parenchymal lung disease (DPLD), comprises a number of clinical disorders that affect the alveolar structures, pulmonary interstitium, and small airways. These disorders include bacterial, fungal, viral, protozoal, and parasitic infections or infestations. They also include diffuse connective tissue diseases like systemic lupus erythematosus; hypersensitivity pneumonitis , extrinsic allergic alveolitis; pneumoconiosis; drug-induced and iatrogenic syndromes; and disorders of unknown origin (e.g., sarcoidosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis) Many of these diseases are benign and self-limiting; others are chronic, progressive, irreversible, and fatal. The lung manifestation may be the one manifestation of a systemic process or it may be the only organ affected. All ILDs, however, have certain common clinical, radiologic, and physiologic features that should be recognized (1).Multislice computed tomography (MSCT) revolutionized CT technology (when it was introduced in 1998) it offered unparalleled speed of acquisition, spatial resolution and anatomical coverage (2 _3).The reconstructed images should be made available for interpretation either on the workstation or as hard copies further image reconstruction can be performed interactively by the radiologist at the workstation (3).Multiplanar and three-dimensional (3D) images of excellent quality can be produced that can be of great benefit in many clinical situations (4 _5).Multislice CT can cover a greater volume, during a simple breath hold, and with better longitudinal and in-plane spatial resolution and improved temporal resolution. The result in data set allows the generation of superior multiplanar and 3D images of the airways, including those obtained from techniques developed specifically for airway imaging, such as virtual bronchography and virtual bronchoscopy (6).Multislice computed tomography not only improves the detection and characterization of parenchymal abnormalities, but also increases the accuracy of diagnosis (7).
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