Andrew Churg, M.D., University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Interstitial lung disease is a difficult area of diagnosis and a source of confusion to many pathologists. The objective is to provide an overview of the more common types of interstitial lung disease with an emphasis on morphologic variations and a practical approach to important diagnostic separations. Roughly 40% of the course will be devoted to the idiopathic interstitial pneumonias including usual interstitial pneumonia, nonspecific interstitial pneumonia, cryptogenic organizing pneumonia, smoking-related interstitial pneumonias (respiratory bronchiolitis with interstitial lung disease/ desquamative interstitial pneumonia), and acute interstitial pneumonia. The emphasis here will be on pathologic features/separation of the entities that have prognostic import, and correlations with radiographic and clinical findings to arrive at a diagnosis. The other portion of the course will be devoted to forms of interstitial pneumonias that have more specific histologic features including extrinsic allergic alveolitis (hypersensitivity pneumonia), sarcoid, lymphangioleiomyomatosis, eosinophilic granuloma, and eosinophilic pneumonias. Mimics of interstitial pneumonia such as drug reactions will be discussed. The importance of correlation with clinical and particularly radiologic findings will be stressed. In addition, the issue of what types of lung biopsy are required for accurate diagnosis of interstitial lung diseases will be covered.
After completion of this course, participants will be able to 1) Recognize the diagnostic criteria for a variety of common interstitial lung diseases; 2) Understand the clinical and radiologic correlations for these conditions; 3) Understand the crucial diagnostic separations
This course is intended for practicing pathologists and residents. This course will use a case based approach with glass slides available for mailing prior to the meeting. A CD with representative images will be mailed after the meeting. Handouts including Powerpoint and text will be distributed at the course. (New Course)
