Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis



A large number of patients with diffuse inter­stitial lung disease will not fit into any of the pre­viously mentioned categories. These patients, usually middle aged with no sex predominance, present with dyspnea and x-ray evidence of in­terstitial disease. Rarely, the disease progresses very rapidly to death from respiratory failure within six months of the onset of symptoms (Ham-man-Rich syndrome). When the disease is more slowly progressive, it is termed idiopathic pul­monary fibrosis or cryptogenic fibrosing alveoli­tis.