Is Progression of Pulmonary Fibrosis due to Ventilation-induced Lung Injury?

If VILI contributes to pulmonary fibrosis, then cyclical and/or permanent alveolar collapse must be part of the pathology.Burkhardt and Cottier (2) date the first discussion of alveolar collapse in pulmonary fibrosis to a German textbook of pathology published in 1922 in which Kaufmann (3), under the heading "Collapse Induration," noted that "if collapse of alveoli persists for some time, expansion may no longer be possible.The denuded alveolar walls stick together and coalesce.The alveoli are obliterated.In the interstitial tissue proliferation of fibrous tissue ensues resulting in cicatricial induration."Burkhardt (4) and Burkhardt and Cottier (2) also cited multiple papers in the German literature dating to the 1950s that described collapse induration as an important mechanism in the development of pulmonary fibrosis.Heppleston's 1956 publication (5) seems to have been the first to suggest that