Bibliogr. s. 25-26

Background: Pulmonary lesions are, besides renal and cardiac complications, one of the main causes of mortality among patients with systemic sclerosis (scleroderma). Pathologic changes in the respiratory system take the form of interstitial fibrosis clinically manifested by progressive exertion dyspnea and abnormalities of respiratory restriction type in functional tests. The aim of the study was systematization of pulmonary lesion symptomatology in conventional chest radiography and high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) in patients with various forms of scleroderma, as well as determination of the frequency and localization of the particular lesion types. Material/Methods: The study was carried out in a group of 49 patients with systemic sclerosis (47 women and 2 men), who underwent conventional radiography and high resolution computed tomography of the chest. Results: In patients with systemic sclerosis, HRCT revealed most frequently interstitial changes of ground glass type, as well as linear and reticular opacities, whereas bronchiectasis and honeycombing type lesions were less frequent. Pulmonary lesions were seen with increasing frequency towards the lung base and were localized mainly in the posterior, inferior and peripheral parts of the lungs. Comparison of the patients with limited and diffuse scleroderma demonstrated that the diffuse form is associated with more frequent involvement of the respiratory system and more advanced pulmonary lesions. Conclusions: The observed characteristics of pulmonary lesions show similarity between interstitial lung disease in the course of systemic sclerosis and nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP), which supports classification of interstitial lung disease associated with scleroderma as belonging to that group of interstitial inflammations.