Interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features show better survival and less exacerbations compared to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

摘要

BackgroundPatients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) who show features related to autoimmunity without meeting criteria for a defined connective tissue disease are categorized as interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF). The present study compared clinical characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients with IPAF to patients with connective tissue disease related-interstitial lung disease (CTD-ILD) and patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).