Lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia

Lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia is being reported with increasing frequency in patients with AIDS. Its clinical, physiologic, and radiographic presentations are indistinguishable from other, more common pulmonary complications of AIDS. The correct diagnosis of lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia can only be established securely by lung biopsy. Thus, lung biopsy should not be discarded as a diagnostic procedure when encountering an AIDS patient with dyspnea, restrictive pulmonary dysfunction, and the radiographic pattern of diffuse interstitial lung disease.