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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staff
Interstitial lung disease seems to occur when an injury to your lungs triggers an abnormal healing response. Ordinarily, your body generates just the right amount of tissue to repair damage. But in interstitial lung disease, the repair process goes awry and the tissue around the air sacs (alveoli) becomes scarred and thickened. This makes it more difficult for oxygen to pass into your bloodstream.
Interstitial lung disease can be triggered by many different things — including airborne toxins in the workplace, drugs and some types of medical treatments. In most cases, the causes are unknown.
Occupational and environmental factors
Long-term exposure to a number of toxins and pollutants can damage your lungs. These may include:
- Silica dust
- Asbestos fibers
- Grain dust
- Bird and animal droppings
Radiation treatments
Some people who receive radiation therapy for lung or breast cancer show signs of lung damage months or sometimes years after the initial treatment. The severity of the damage depends on:
- How much of the lung was exposed to radiation
- The total amount of radiation administered
- Whether chemotherapy also was used
- The presence of underlying lung disease
Medications
Many drugs can damage your lungs, especially:
- Chemotherapy drugs. Drugs designed to kill cancer cells, such as methotrexate (Trexall) and cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan), can also damage lung tissue.
- Heart medications. Some drugs used to treat irregular heartbeats, such as amiodarone (Cordarone, Nexterone, Pacerone) or propranolol (Inderal, Inderide, Innopran), may harm lung tissue.
- Some antibiotics. Nitrofurantoin (Macrobid, Macrodantin, others) and sulfasalazine (Azulfidine) can cause lung damage.
Medical conditions
Lung damage can also result from:
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Sarcoidosis
- Scleroderma
Unknown causes
The list of substances and conditions that can lead to interstitial lung disease is long. Even so, in most cases, the causes are never found. Disorders without a known cause are grouped together under the label idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis or idiopathic interstitial lung disease.
- Olson AL, et al. Interstitial lung disease. In: Schraufnagel DE, et al. Breathing in America: Diseases, Progress and Hope. New York, N.Y.: American Thoracic Society; 2010. http://www.thoracic.org/education/breathing-in-america.pdf. Accessed May 20, 2011.
- Selman M, et al. Clinical, radiologic and physiologic features of interstitial lung diseases. In: Mason RJ, et al. Murray and Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/192068760-2/0/1288/0.html. Accessed May 23, 2011.
- King TE. Approach to the adult with interstitial lung disease: Clinical evaluation. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 20, 2011.
- Raghu G. Interstitial lung disease. In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/191371208-2/0/1492/0.html#. Accessed May 20, 2011.
- What is idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/ipf/ipf_all.html. Accessed May 25, 2011.
- Shih G, et al. Interstitial lung disease. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2011: Instant Diagnosis and Treatment. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2011. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05610-6..C2009-0-38600-6--TOP&isbn=978-0-323-05610-6&about=true&uniqId=230100505-53. Accessed May 25, 2011.
- King TE. Treatment of idiopathy pulmonary fibrosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 25, 2011.
- Pulmonary rehabilitation. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/pulreh/pulreh_all.html. Accessed May 25, 2011.
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