Rheumatology: understanding connective tissue disease in patients with interstitial lung disease

Respiratory medicine meets other disciplines
Chairs: M. Tamm (Basel, Switzerland), G. Riemekasten (Lübeck, Germany)
Aims: To describe a diagnostic approach for patients presenting with respiratory symptoms and suspected connective tissue disease (CTD); to evaluate the evidence associated with indications for biopsy, including determining preferences for cryobiopsy versus video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS); and to determine the benefits and revise recommendation for therapy in CTD, including indications for monoclonal antibody (AB) therapy, particularly rituximab.

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) and multicompartment assessment of CTD: where should the respiratory physician begin? C. Denton (London, United Kingdom)
Does histology matter in ILD-CTD? V. Poletti (Forlì, Italy)
Fibrotic CTD and interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF): immunosuppressive or/and anti-fibrotic treatment? S. Danoff (Baltimore, United States of America)
B-cell suppressive therapy and monoclonal antibodies in CTD: does one size fit all? D. Kyburz (Basel, Switzerland)