A 35-year-old man with fever, dyspnea, and diffuse reticular opacities.

1. NSIP should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a patient presenting with the subacute onset of fever, dyspnea, cough, and diffuse reticular opacities when more common causes, such as infection, have been excluded.

2. Patients with RA may rarely present with respiratory symptoms due to NSIP-pattern interstitial pneumonia in advance of arthralgias or arthritis.

3. A histologic pattern of NSIP on a lung biopsy should alert a clinician to investigate thoroughly for underlying etiologic factors such as drug toxicity, occupational and environmental exposures, CTD, and infections including HIV.

4. NSIP, idiopathic or secondary to CTD, responds well to systemic steroids with a more favorable prognosis as compared with other idiopathic interstitial pneumonias such as UIP.