Diagnosis in interstitial lung disease: highly confident histopathological results from transbronchial cryobiopsy are reliable

摘要

The establishment of a conclusive clinical diagnosis in ILD is essential. In most cases, it is based on the merger of findings from clinical, serological and radiological investigations. High resolution computed tomography (HRCT) has become a very important diagnostic tool, as radiologic findings give an impression of the nature and prognosis of the disease in the vast majority of patients. Bronchoalveolar lavage may be of additive value (1). However, in some cases the clinical diagnosis remains unclear, making lung tissue sampling necessary.