Antifibrotic therapies in rheumatoid arthritis associated interstitial lung disease

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is one of the common extra-articular manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and it is associated with high mortality rate. The usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern of RA associated ILD (RA-ILD) shows some similarities to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, suggesting that antifibrotic therapies may have potential positive affects. In this review, we discuss the effectiveness of antifibrotic therapy for RA-ILD.