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Case Reports
. 2025 Apr 3;17(2):28.
doi: 10.3390/idr17020028.

Usual Interstitial Pneumonia Pattern and Mycobacteria Lung Diseases: A Case Series

Maria Angela Licata  1   2 , Giorgio Monteleone  1 , Enrico Schiavi  1 , Maria Musso  3 , Paola Mencarini  3 , Annelisa Mastrobattista  3 , Serena Maria Carli  3 , Carlotta Cerva  3 , Giacomo Sgalla  1   4 , Luca Richeldi  1   4 , Fabrizio Palmieri  3 , Gina Gualano  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Usual Interstitial Pneumonia Pattern and Mycobacteria Lung Diseases: A Case Series

Maria Angela Licata et al. Infect Dis Rep. .

Abstract

Background: Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are a heterogeneous group of conditions that can cause fibrosis of the lung interstitium, resulting in respiratory failure and death. Patients with an ILD, particularly idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) or connective tissue disease-associated ILDs (CTD-ILDs), are prone to develop chronic pulmonary infections such as tuberculosis (TB) and non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD).

Methods: This case series examines the management of three ILD patients with a usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern and concomitant NTM-PD or TB at National Institute for Infectious Diseases "Lazzaro Spallanzani" in Rome, Italy, over three years (2019-2022).

Results and conclusions: Multi-disciplinary discussion (MDD) was crucial to define the therapeutic approach due to the increased risk of side effects and drug interactions. Our work underscored how a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation, enriched by MDD, is useful for optimizing the management and reducing drug-related adverse effects and interactions in ILD patients with cavitary lesions.

Keywords: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF); interstitial lung diseases (ILDs); non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD); tuberculosis (TB); usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Case #1 contrast-enhanced CT scan acquired in the emergency room during massive hemoptysis. UIP pattern is evident in the lower lobes (A), while the most extensive consolidation is located in the apical segment of the right lower lobe (B). Abbreviation: CT, computed-tomography; UIP, usual interstitial pneumonia.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Case #2 chest HRCT scans acquired in the emergency room. Multiple bilateral excavated lesions and parenchymal consolidation with air bronchogram are more evident in the upper lobes (A), while the UIP pattern characterized by traction bronchiectasis and reticulation is more prominent in the lower lobes (B). Abbreviations: HRCT, high-resolution computed tomography; UIP, usual interstitial pneumonia.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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