Differential Diagnosis
The key issue facing clinicians is whether the presenting history, symptoms (or signs), radiology, and pulmonary function testing are collectively in keeping with the diagnosis of IPF (which carries the poor prognosis described above) or whether the findings are due to another process. It has long been recognized that patients with interstitial lung disease related to asbestos exposure, drugs (such as chemotherapeutic agents or nitrofurantoin), rheumatoid arthritis and scleroderma/systemic sclerosis may be difficult to distinguish from IPF. Other differential diagnostic considerations include interstitial lung disease related to mixed connective tissue disease, advanced sarcoidosis, chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis, pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis and radiation-induced fibrosis.
Read more about this topic: Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
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