Tutorial presented by Dr Mia Gillett, Respiratory registrar.

Patients presenting with interstitial lung disease will generally have progressive breathlessness, getting worse over months to years, which is often worse on exertion. Some patients may also present with a dry cough.

Taking a history from a patient will help to determine whether the patient has one of the many forms of interstitial lung disease, and the American Thoracic Society have developed a classification system that outlines the different types of ILD, which should guide the history taking.

Features of other lung conditions such as asthma and COPD should be considered in the differential diagnosis.