Macrolides and Interstitial Lung Diseases

Macrolide antibiotics are well known for their antibacterial properties, but extensive research in inflammatory lung diseases such as diffuse panbronchiolitis, cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has revealed that they also have powerful immunomodulatory properties. Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) are a group of diffuse parenchymal lung disorders associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. There is accumulating evidence of the clinical usefulness of macrolides for various ILDs, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and cryptogenic and secondary organizing pneumonias, although antifibrotic agents or immunosuppressants are currently the most widely accepted treatment strategies for these diseases.