Antifibrotics and lung transplantation: A Spanish multicentre case-controlled study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Antifibrotic drugs are the standard treatments for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). This study aims to assess the safety of antifibrotic treatment in IPF patients undergoing lung transplantation. METHODS: Patients with a diagnosis of IPF who received a lung transplant between January 2015 and June 2019 at four Spanish hospitals specialized in lung transplantation were retrospectively recruited. Cases were defined as patients receiving antifibrotic treatments at time of transplant. Each case was matched with a control who did not receive antifibrotic treatment. RESULTS: A total of 164 patients were included in the study cohort (103 cases and 61 controls). There were no statistically significant differences between the cases and controls in any of the items studied related to transplantation except the time until the appearance of chest wall dehiscence: although there were no differences in the incidence of wall dehiscence in either group (12.3% vs. 13.7%; p = 0.318), the patients on antifibrotic drugs experienced it earlier (21 days [IQR = 12.5-41.5] vs. 63 days [IQR = 46.75-152.25]; p = 0.012). There were no differences in overall post-transplant survival between the two groups (p = 0.698) or in conditional survival at 30 days, 90 days, 3 years or 5 years. However, 1 year survival was significantly greater among controls (80.6% vs. 93.3%; p = 0.028). CONCLUSION: There was evidence that chest wall dehiscences appeared earlier post-transplant in patients using antifibrotics, even though this factor did not significantly impact survival.

A disease progression model of longitudinal lung function decline in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients.

Pirfenidone and nintedanib are the first two FDA-approved therapies for treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The clinical programs for pirfenidone and nintedanib included 1132 patients in the placebo arms and 1691 patients in the treatment arms across 6 trials. We developed a disease progression model to characterize the observed variability in lung function decline, measured as percent predicted forced vital capacity (%p-FVC), and its decrease in decline after treatment. The non-linear longitudinal change in %p-FVC was best described by a Weibull function. The median decreased decline in %p-FVC after treatment was estimated to be 1.50% (95% CI [1.12, 1.79]) and 1.96% (95% CI [1.47, 2.36]) at week 26 and week 52, respectively. Smoking status, weight, %p-FVC, %p-DLco and oxygen use at baseline were identified as significant covariates affecting decline in %p-FVC. The decreased decline in %p-FVC were observed among all subgroups of interest, of which the effects were larger at 1 year compared to 6 months. Based on the disease progression model smoking status and oxygen use at baseline may affect the treatment effect size. At week 52, the decreased decline in %p-FVC for current smokers and patients with oxygen use at baseline were 1.56 (90% CI [1.02, 1.99]) and 2.32 (90% CI [1.74, 2.86]), respectively. These prognostic factors may be used to enrich studies with patients who are more likely to respond to treatment, by demonstrating a lesser decline in lung function, and therefore provide the potential to allow for IPF studies with smaller study populations or shorter durations.

Fibrosis pulmonar idiopática / Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

La FPI predomina en el sexo masculino, en edades avanzadas, con tos y/o disnea progresivas. Un 5% se presenta como una forma familiar. La tomografía axial computarizada de tórax, fundamental en el diagnóstico, en al menos un 50% hace innecesaria la biopsia. El diagnóstico es conjunto con clínicos, radiólogos y patólogos. La sobrevivencia media es de tres a cinco años desde el diagnóstico. La historia natural es un deterioro progresivo, pero hay formas rápidas y también pueden aparecer exacerbaciones que ensombrecen el pronóstico. Diversas comorbilidades se han descrito como la hipertensión pulmonar, la asociación con enfisema y el reflujo gastroesofágico. Sólo recientemente aparecen fármacos útiles, que son la Pirfenidona y el Nintedanib. El clásico esquema de prednisona, azatriopina y N-acetil cisteina, se ha demostrado ineficaz. Otros recursos que pueden utilizarse como complementos útiles en la enfermedad son el oxígeno, la rehabilitación, las terapias antirreflujo y el manejo sintomático de la tos.

PF appears mainly in aged males, with progressive cough and dyspnea. In 5% of the cases the disease presents as a familial form. CT scan is key in diagnosis of the disease. In no less than 50% biopsy is unnecessary but diagnosis must be made in conjunction with clinician, radiologist and pathologist. Median survival is 3 to 5 years from diagnosis. Natural history is a progressive deterioration but there are fast evolution cases and exacerbation of the disease that make worse the prognosis. Pulmonary hypertension, the association with emphysema and gastroesophageal reflux has been described as comorbidities of the disease. Last year has been published the positive results of therapeuticall trials with two new drugs, Pirfenidone and Nintedanib. The classical regime for IPF with Prednisone, Azathriopine and Acetylcysteine has been showed as useless. Oxygen, Pulmonary rehabilitation, gastroesophageal reflux and cough management are complementary treatment for the disease.