Rheumatoid nodules in the lungs: difficulties of diagnosis and therapy

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common systemic connective tissue disease and typically presents pulmonary involvement, which can be of various types. Rheumatoid nodules (RN) of the lungs are one of the most common such lesions and can be potentially dangerous for the development of complications such as pneumothorax. In addition, RN often requires differential diagnosis with other diseases represented by focal formations in the lungs. The article presents two clinical cases related to the development and complication of RN. The first case describes the development of recurrent pneumothorax in a patient with a long history of RA and risk factors for the development of lung disease. The second case is a atypical variant of the onset of RA with simultaneous involvement of the joints and the formation of nodules in the lungs. The results of RN visualization are demonstrated. The presented data are discussed.