What Is a Rheumatoid Lung?

Rheumatoid lung is a type of lung disease that occurs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Doctors refer to many lung conditions associated with rheumatoid arthritis as rheumatoid lung.

Types

Fluid in the chest, lumps in the lungs, lung scarring and high blood pressure in the lungs are all types of rheumatoid lung.

Causes

According to MedlinePlus, there's no known cause for these conditions. It's believed that some of the medications doctors use to treat rheumatoid arthritis can cause some of the conditions of rheumatoid lung.

Symptoms

Rheumatoid lung often has no signs or symptoms. In some cases, the condition can cause a cough, shortness of breath, fever and chest pain.

Diagnosis

Doctors diagnose rheumatoid lung with a number of techniques, including a chest biopsy, chest x-ray, CT scan and echocardiogram. An echocardiogram looks for signs of high blood pressure in the chest. The other methods look for abnormalities, such as fluid, scarring or lumps.

Treatment

According to MedlinePlus, doctors don't typically treat rheumatoid lung because it's caused by an underlying condition. Treating rheumatoid arthritis itself usually relieves the symptoms of rheumatoid lung.

References

• MedlinePlus: Rheumatoid Lung Disease