Ulcerative colitis combined with acute interstitial lung disease and airway disease: A case report and literature review

The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical features of ulcerative colitis (UC) combined with acute interstitial lung disease (ILD). One case with acute UC combined with ILD and airway disease was reported, and the pathological diagnosis of previous cases of UC combined with ILD was retrospectively analyzed according to the corresponding literature. The present case concerned a male patient with UC who presented with dry cough and progressive dyspnea. The chest computed tomography (CT) images showed as normal on the seventh day; diffuse ground-glass shadows were observed on the 11th day and diffuse reticular, patchy, nodular shadows and lung cysts were observed on the 21st day. The results of an open lung biopsy on the 23rd day indicated pleural adhesions, and the pathologies were pulmonary fibrosis and airway inflammation. Glucocorticoid therapy was ineffective in the patient, but cyclophosphamide combined with γ globulin rapidly caused the disease to remit. A total of 24 cases with UC combined with ILD and two cases of UC combined with acute ILD were retrieved through PubMed. UC combined with acute ILD was rare in clinical practice. Patients with dry cough, progressive dyspnea and diffuse ground-glass shadows in pulmonary CT images should be closely monitored. Glucocorticoid therapy should be carefully selected and precautions should be taken against opportunistic infections of the lung. Cyclophosphamide combined with γ globulin may be an effective treatment strategy.