Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

The Healio editors have compiled a list of the most-read news on interstitial lung diseases published in 2020.

Statin therapy may have a significant benefit on progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, according to results of a retrospective study published in Respiratory Medicine.

Mortality due to COVID-19 was higher in patients with preexisting fibrotic idiopathic interstitial lung disease compared with other interstitial lung diseases, researchers reported in a new study.

Treatment with oral co-trimoxazole did not reduce time to death, lung transplant or nonelective hospitalization compared with placebo in patients with moderate or severe idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in the EME-TIPAC trial.

Combination therapy with pirfenidone plus sildenafil did not provide treatment benefit in patients with advanced idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and risk for pulmonary hypertension compared with pirfenidone plus placebo.

The American Thoracic Society issued a new clinical practice guideline to aid clinicians in diagnosing hypersensitivity pneumonitis in patients with newly diagnosed interstitial lung disease — the first new guidance in 3 decades.

New analyses of the INBUILD trial show nintedanib slowed lung function decline and reduced the annual rate of FVC decline in patients with a progressive form of chronic fibrosing interstitial lung diseases, including in various subgroups.

A comprehensive online home monitoring program for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis did not improve health-related quality of life, but improved patients’ psychological well-being.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a disabling autoimmune disorder that can cause diffuse fibrosis and vascular abnormalities in the skin, joints, and internal organs. Affecting approximately 2 million people worldwide, SSc is challenging to diagnose due to its nonspecific symptomatology and rare nature.

The FDA has approved the first treatment — nintedanib oral capsules — to treat patients with chronic fibrosing interstitial lung diseases with a progressive phenotype, according to a press release from the agency.