Difference Between Interstitial Lung Disease and Bronchiectasis

August 2022 · 6 minute read

The key difference between Interstitial Lung Disease and Bronchiectasis is that the interstitial lung diseases are a set of restrictive lung diseases whereas the bronchiectasis is an obstructive lung disease.

Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) are a heterogeneous group of disorders that involve the lung parenchyma – alveolar lining, alveolar walls, capillary endothelium and connective tissue. The same pathological changes caused by infectious agents are not considered as interstitial lung diseases. Bronchiectasis is a pathological condition of the respiratory system characterized by the presence of abnormally and permanently dilated airways.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Interstitial Lung Disease
3. What is Bronchiectasis
4. Similarities Between Interstitial Lung Disease and Bronchiectasis
5. Side by Side Comparison – Interstitial Lung Disease vs Bronchiectasis in Tabular Form
6. Summary

What is Interstitial Lung Disease?

Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) are a heterogeneous group of disorders that involve the lung parenchyma – alveolar lining, alveolar walls, capillary endothelium and connective tissue. Same pathological changes caused by infectious agents are not considered as interstitial lung diseases. In almost all the patients there is a fibrosis of the lung parenchyma sometimes with associated inflammation. Ultimately the alveolar septae get thickened impairing the diffusion of oxygen across them.

In the most advanced stage of the disease, there is diffuse fibrosis of the lung giving rise to the characteristic honeycomb appearance in the CT radiographs. The patient may have significant impairment of pulmonary function, pulmonary hypertension, and cor pulmonale.

Common Clinical Features

Common clinical features of interstitial lung disease include;

Difference Between Interstitial Lung Disease and Bronchiectasis

Figure 01: An alveolus in the Lung

Lung Function Tests

Diffuse infiltrative pattern – small nodules, irregular lines or ground glass shadow

Cause

The exact cause of, a majority of the interstitial lung diseases has not yet been identified. But they are believed to have associations with the following risk factors.

Histological Subtypes of Interstitial Lung Diseases

  • Usual interstitial pneumpnia (UIP)
  • Organizing pneumonia (OP) [old term-Bronchioloitisobliterance with organizing pneumonia (BOOP)]
  • Desquamative interstitial pneumonia (DIP)
  • Diffuse alveolar damage (DAD)
  • Nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP)
  • Investigations

    Interstitial lung disease can be investigated via;

    Management

    The management plan can vary depending on the underlying cause of the interstitial lung disease

    What is Bronchiectasis?

    Bronchiectasis is a pathological condition of the respiratory system characterized by the presence of abnormally and permanently dilated airways. As a result of the chronic inflammation, bronchial walls get thickened and irreversibly damaged. The impairment of the mucociliary transport mechanism increases the risk of superimposed infections.

    Etiology

    The causes of bronchiectasis are;

    Key Difference Between Interstitial Lung Disease and Bronchiectasis

    Figure 02: Bronchiectasis

    Clinical Features

    The clinical features of bronchiectasis include;

    Investigations

    Investigations of bronchiectasis include;

    Treatment

    The treatment and management of bronchiectasis are;

    Complications

    What is the Similarity Between Interstitial Lung Disease and Bronchiectasis?

    What is the Difference Between Interstitial Lung Disease and Bronchiectasis?

    Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) are a heterogeneous group of disorders that involve the lung parenchyma – alveolar lining, alveolar walls, capillary endothelium and connective tissue while Bronchiectasis is a pathological condition of the respiratory system characterized by the presence of abnormally and permanently dilated airways. This is the key difference between Interstitial interstitial lung disease and bronchiectasis. Also, there are othere differences between interstitial lung disease and bronchiectasis based on the cause, clinical features, investigation technique, treatment and management, which are tabulated below.

    Difference Between Interstitial Lung Disease and Bronchiectasis in Tabular Form

    Summary – Interstitial Lung Disease vs Bronchiectasis

    Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) are a heterogeneous group of disorders that involve the lung parenchyma – alveolar lining, alveolar walls, capillary endothelium and connective tissue whereas bronchiectasis is a pathological condition of the respiratory system characterized by the presence of abnormally and permanently dilated airways. Bronchiectasis is an obstructive lung disease but interstitial lung diseases are restrictive in nature. This is the major difference between Interstitial Lung Disease and Bronchiectasis.

    Reference:

    1. Parveen Kumar. Kumar and Clark’s Clinical Medicine. Edited by Michael L Clark, 8th ed.

    Image Courtesy:

    1.’Alveolus diagram’By LadyofHats – own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
    2.’3677946871′ by Yale Rosen (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Flickr

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