Early diagnosis can help fight ILD in India, says study

STUDY REVEALED THAT 13% OF ILD PATIENTS WERE DIAGNOSED WITH IDIOPATHIC PULMONARY FIBROSIS, WHICH IS FATAL LIKE CANCER

Lung Diseases (ILDs) were considered rare in India, but now many patients have been identified with the disease, a recent study has found.

The study revealed that 13% of ILD patients were diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which is fatal like cancer and the patients die within three to five years, while another 87% were found to be afflicted with different group of the ILD, said Dr Virendra Singh, one of the authors of the article.

The Indian Chest Society conducted a survey of ILD across 27 centres in 19 cities, including Jaipur and Ajmer in Rajasthan. The study carried on 1,084 patients out of whom 231 were from Jaipur and 54 from Ajmer, he said.

In ILD, alveolar walls are swollen and scarred, as the result blood does not get complete oxygen, due to which lungs shrink and become hard.

Experts said the incidence of hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) in current ILD India registry was higher than that reported earlier in Indian and international studies.

The reason of 47.3% HP in ILD was due to exposure to a fungus called mould found in pigeons, air conditioners and air coolers.

Dr Singh said in the west, ILD is diagnosed within a year, while in India it takes more than four years, a reason being the shortage of good quality CT scan machines in India.

If ILD patients are diagnosed within a year, then a number of them can be cured, he said.

Dr Sheetu Singh, lead author of the article , said the study was carried out with the ILD centre at Seattle in the US.

The study details were sent to the national coordinating centre at the Sawai Man Sigh Medical College and Hospital and Asthma Bhawan, she said, adding that analysis was carried out by a team of chest specialists, radiologists and pathologists at Jaipur and then at Seattle.

The study was published in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine in March 2017.

There is a need for studies to establish the cause of high incidence of HP in India, until then awareness about ILD needs to be raised to avoid contact with air coolers, air conditioners and birds, said Sheetu Singh.

“Training programmes need to be organised for general physicians and pulmonologists to diagnose this complex disease.” Four students of the Alabbar School of Management at Raffles University Neemrana, including Hrohit Yadav, Nitin Yadav,