Diseases with skin and lung involvement: Pulmonologist's perspective

A variety of conditions/diseases can involve skin and lungs together. Knowledge about these conditions and the skin and respiratory manifestations in these conditions will lead to early diagnosis and proper management. Some of the dermatological manifestations may be very classical where the diagnosis will be obvious at a glance. Many a times, dermatological manifestations may narrow the differential diagnoses. In some cases, dermatological manifestations may indicate the severity/stage of the disease and prognosis. In some diseases with dermatological manifestations, where no obvious respiratory symptoms or signs are evident, screening for the underlying lung disease may be indicated. Some dermatological manifestations may indicate the underlying lung or other systemic diseases where further evaluation may be warranted even in the absence of other symptoms or signs. Diseases with skin and lung involvement can be classified into congenital/developmental disorders with cutaneous and pulmonary manifestations; primary dermatological diseases with pulmonary manifestations; primary pulmonary diseases with cutaneous manifestations; skin changes due to drugs used to treat respiratory diseases; and miscellaneous conditions involving skin and lungs. In this article, we discuss the various conditions/diseases with skin and lung involvement which a pulmonologist must know.