Rheumatoid arthritis-associated airway disease: Longitudinal pulmonary function behavior

Rheumatoid Arthritis-associated airway disease (RA-AWD) is a commonly overlooked pulmonary manifestation of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Its prevalence varies widely, from 8 to 60%, depending on the source of the cases (hospital-based studies or autopsy) and the criteria used to define RA-AWD, whether based on symptoms, pulmonary function tests (PFTs), or imaging. In the present study, we describe the longitudinal behavior of PFTs in patients with RA-AWD. This single center retrospective study involved subjects aged 18 years or older, diagnosed with RA-AWD at a tertiary pulmonary clinic, that were followed between 2016 and 2017. RA-AWD was defined by the absence of interstitial lung disease (ILD) and the presence of features of airway disease on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the chest, not explained by other diagnoses, such as asthma or COPD. Since smoking is in the causal pathway of RA and likely in the causal pathway of RA-AWD, it was not used as an exclusion criterion. (author)