PULMONARY CHANGES IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS-A STUDY ON 100 PATIENTS

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic inflammatory disease characterized by symmetric, relapsing, or chronic destructive synovitis. We aim to study the clinical significance of CAT scan in assessing pulmonary findings in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Method: We conducted a retrospective study and the data was collected for a period of 4 months from May 2018 to August 2020. Our study included 100 patients with confirmed diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis as per the American College of Rheumatology definition. We studied the CT scan of chest in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and analyzed the most common pulmonary changes seen in these patients. Results: The study group included 45 percent males and 55 percent females. The mean age for men included in the study was 55 years (44-89) and for women was 52 years (39-87).The most common CT finding was found to be bronchiectasis/bronchiolectasis which was observed in 64 patients. Emphysema was the second most common followed by pulmonary blebs at apex. Pulmonary fibrosis was seen in 20 percent of the patient. The most common nodule present was micronodules in the parenchyma followed by sub-pleural micronodules. Conclusion: High resolution computed tomography is a superior imaging modality of choice as compared to chest x-ray or pulmonary function test to better characterize the parenchymal changes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis during the early stages of the disease. Pulmonary function test have failed to accurately detect the early parenchymal changes in rheumatoid arthritis.