Pathology of airway disease in rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

This chapter describes the lesions in the airways of the lungs, particularly those observed in bronchiolitis obliterans, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA-associated bronchiolitis obliterans has two different morphological presentations: (1) endobronchiolitis obliterans (EBO), in which the lesions are primarily present in the lumen of the airway, with minimal destruction of the airway wall, and (2) cellular destructive bronchiolitis (CDB), in which transmural inflammation causes destruction of the airway wall. The clinical presentations of EBO are markedly different from those of CDB, and they are generally characterized by distinct pathologies. Notably, a few cases of RA-associated bronchiectasis have been found to represent secondary lesions of CDB.