Dr. Castellvi concluded his remarks with a photo of his interdisciplinary clinical team, stressing the importance of collaboration between rheumatologists, pulmonologists, radiologists and others to identify ILD in RA patients and establish best steps for management. Such discussions are not purely academic. Dr. Castellvi noted the risk of death in RA patients with ILD is up to three times higher than that of RA patients without ILD.5 Therefore, it’s important to breathe new life into this discourse and continue to seek an understanding of the role ILD can and does play in the lives of RA patients.
Jason Liebowitz, MD, recently completed his fellowship in rheumatology at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, where he also earned his MD. He is currently in practice with Arthritis, Rheumatic, and Back Disease Associates, New Jersey.
References
- Helmick CG, Felson DT, Lawrence RC, et al. Estimates of the prevalence of arthritis and other rheumatic conditions in the U.S. Part I. Arthritis Rheum. 2008 Jan;58(1):15–25.
- Juge PA, Lee JS, Ebstein E, et al. MUC5B promoter variant and rheumatoid arthritis with interstitial lung disease. N Engl J Med. 2018 Dec 6;379(23):2209–2219.
- Salliot C, van der Heijde D. Long-term safety of methotrexate monotherapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic literature research. Ann Rheum Dis. 2009 Jul;68(7):1100–1104.
- Kiely P, Busby AD, Nikiphorou E, et al. Is incident rheumatoid arthritis interstitial lung disease associated with methotrexate treatment? Results from a multivariate analysis in the ERAS and ERAN inception cohorts. BMJ Open. 2019 May 5;9(5):e028466.
- Bongartz T, Nannini C, Medina-Velasquez YF, et al. Incidence and mortality of interstitial lung disease in rheumatoid arthritis: A population-based study. Arthritis Rheum. 2010 Jun;62(6):1583–1591.
