A full clinical diagnosis can only be made from a lung biopsy of the tissue, fully best performed by a VATS, done by a cardio-thoracic surgeon. Some pulmonologists may first attempt a bronchoscopy; however, this frequently fails to give a full or correct diagnosis. Lung biopsies performed on patients with<unk>  reveal two different disease patterns – cellular and fibrosing – which are associated with different prognoses. The cellular pattern displays chronic inflammation with minimal fibrosis. The fibrosing pattern displays interstitial fibrosis with various inflammation levels. Both patterns are uniform and lack the prominent fibroblastic foci that are found in other types of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia.
Non-specific interstitial pneumonia
Lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia
Desquamative interstitial pneumonia
Usual interstitial pneumonia
Multifocal micronodular pneumocyte hyperplasia
Granulomatous–lymphocytic interstitial lung disease
Diffuse alveolar damage
Pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis