The severity of bilateral interstitial lung changes needs to be considered in conjunction with the specific etiology, extent of the lesions, and the degree of impairment of lung function.
1. Etiology: the etiology of bilateral interstitial lung changes can be infectious, such as viral infection, or non-infectious, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, systemic sclerosis secondary interstitial lung changes. The prognosis of different causes is different, for example, patients with viral infection can usually recover after regular anti-infective treatment, while idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and systemic sclerosis have a poor prognosis.
2. Extent of the lesion: The extent of the lung lesion directly affects the compensatory capacity of the lungs, which in turn affects the patient’s symptoms. If the scope of the lesion is small and still within the compensatory range, the patient can be symptom-free for a long time, but when the scope of the damage gradually expands, the lung function will gradually decline.
3. Degree of lung function damage: the lungs themselves have the ability to compensate, when the degree of lung function damage is still within the compensatory range, the patient is usually symptom-free, but if it exceeds the compensatory range of the lungs, then respiratory failure will occur.
If there are interstitial changes in both lungs, it is recommended to actively seek medical attention and follow the doctor’s instructions for treatment, which will help to improve the prognosis and prolong the survival period.