title: PREDICTION OF INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASE PROGRESSION IN SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS PATIENTS: A COHORT STUDY ANALYSIS
abstract: Introduction. Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) is an autoimmune disease that often causes inﬂammatory ﬁbrosing lesions of the pulmonary interstitial tissue, referred to as interstitial lung disease. It is associated with a signiﬁcant reduction in survival and is the leading immediate cause of the systemic scleroderma patients’ death. Progression rate of interstitial lung disease varies greatly. Since the speciﬁc immunosuppressive and antiﬁbrotic treatment is only justiﬁed in case of progressive 
journal: The Bulletin of Contemporary Clinical Medicine