PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Simon L.F. Walsh
TI  - Multidisciplinary evaluation of interstitial lung diseases: current insights
AID  - 10.1183/16000617.0002-2017
DP  - 2017 Jun 30
TA  - European Respiratory Review
PG  - 170002
VI  - 26
IP  - 144
4099  - http://err.ersjournals.com/content/26/144/170002.short
4100  - http://err.ersjournals.com/content/26/144/170002.full
SO  - EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY REVIEW2017 Jun 30; 26
AB  - Multidisciplinary team (MDT) diagnosis is regarded as the diagnostic reference standard for interstitial lung disease (ILD). Several studies have reported that MDT diagnosis is associated with higher levels of diagnostic confidence and better interobserver agreement when compared to the individual components of the MDT in isolation. Although this recommendation is widely accepted, no guideline statement specifies what constitutes an MDT meeting and how its participants should govern it. Furthermore, the precise role of an MDT meeting in the setting of ILD may vary from one group to another. For example, in some cases, the meeting will confine its discussion to characterising the disease and formulating diagnosis. In others, management decisions may also be part of the discussion. Surprisingly, there is no consensus on how MDT diagnosis is validated. As multidisciplinary evaluation contains all the available clinical information on an individual patient, there is no reference standard against which the veracity of MDT diagnosis can be tested. Finally, many of these uncertainties surrounding MDT meeting practice are unlikely to be answered by traditional evidence-based studies, which create difficulties when generating guideline recommendations. There is clearly a need for expert consensus on what constitutes acceptable MDT meeting practice. This consensus will need to be flexible to accommodate the variability in resources available to fledgling MDT groups and the variable nature of patients requiring discussion.There are uncertainties about the optimal approach to multidisciplinary diagnosis in ILDs and a consensus is needed http://ow.ly/oKtC30b1ak2