New study aims to cut diagnostic delays for lung scarring patients

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Age 18 years or older. * Referral for suspected or undiagnosed interstitial lung disease (ILD). * At least one of the following: * A finding suggestive of ILD (such as reticulation, ground-glass opacities, traction bronchiectasis or honeycombing) not attributable to another disease, on a CT available at referral that includes the lung parenchyma, regardless of its indication; or * Persistent or progressive shortness of breath or chronic cough not attributable to another disease, accompanied by at least one of the following: an interstitial or reticular pattern on chest radiograph; reduced forced vital capacity; persistent bibasilar crackles or digital clubbing; a relevant environmental or occupational exposure, autoimmune disease, or suspected drug or radiation toxicity; or a first-degree family history of ILD. * Ability to provide informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: * Complete ILD diagnostic work-up already performed (chest CT plus full pulmonary function testing including six-minute walk test plus complete ILD laboratory panel). * Established diagnosis of ILD previously assigned by another center or specialist. * Clinical instability or acute illness that would prevent reliable completion of diagnostic procedures (e.g., respiratory infection, suspected acute ILD exacerbation, acute heart failure). * Acute iatrogenic pneumonitis (drug-, chemotherapy- or radiation-induced) with a clear temporal relationship to the offending agent. * Medical, functional, psychiatric or logistical limitations that, in the investigators' opinion, would interfere with the diagnostic process or data collection. * Participation in another interventional clinical trial that may alter the frequency or timing of diagnostic procedures. * Cognitive impairment that prevents informed consent or completion of study questionnaires. * Refusal to participate or to allow the collection or use of clinical data.