RESULTS
ILD cohort consisted of 1351 patients and 314 of them were identified as
CTD associated ILD, satisfying classification criteria of one of the
CTDs. Patients followed up less than 6 months were excluded. Among the
remaining, 57 patients received AZA and and 79 patients were given CYC
for induction therapy and were included.
Demographics and disease characteristics of the study patients are
presented in Table 1. AZA treated patients were significantly older, had
shorter duration of pulmonary symptoms, less extensive disease and
better forced vital capacity (FVC) at baseline compared to CYC group
(Table 1). NSIP pattern was more frequently seen in all sub-groups
except for RA patients. Patients diagnosed with newly defined IPAF were
significantly more likely to get AZA, whereas, those with SSc were more
likely to get CYC for induction therapy.