Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a new international clinical guideline

Russian Registry of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: Clinical Features, Treatment Management, and Outcomes

A registry of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) was founded in Russia in 2016. The aim of this study was to analyze the demographic, clinical, functional, radiological, and morphological data of the patients included in this registry.

METHODS

This was a prospective multicenter, observational, non-interventional study. Patients' risk factors, demographics, clinical data, results of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the chest and pulmonary function testing, and lung tissue biopsy findings were analyzed. We also analyzed the exercise tolerance (6-min walking test) of patients, serological markers of systemic connective tissue diseases, treatment, clinical course, and outcomes of the disease. Multidisciplinary discussion (MDD) was used as needed.

RESULTS

One thousand three hundred and fifty-three patients were included in the registry from 2016 to 2020. The mean age was 64.4 ± 10.7 years, most patients were active smokers or ex-smokers. Antifibrotic therapy was administered to 90 of 948 patients (9.5%). Since starting the registry in 2016, the incidences of IPF have increased and the time period from manifestation of the disease to making the diagnosis has shortened, the number of patients on antifibrotic therapy has increased and the number of patients taking systemic steroids decreased.

CONCLUSION

The registry of patients with IPF was helpful to improve IPF diagnosis and to implement antifibrotic agents in clinical practice. Further analysis of the clinical course and prognostic markers of IPF in the Russian population is needed. An analysis of the long-term efficacy of antifibrotic therapy in this population is also important.

[Radial endobronchial ultrasound combined with transbronchial lung cryobiopsy in differential diagnosis of pulmonary infiltrate]

Differential diagnosis of pulmonary infiltrates is difficult due to the absence of specific clinical and radiological manifestations. Differential diagnosis of pulmonary infiltrates usually includes the following «triad»: pneumonia, tuberculosis, lung cancer. Diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis is based on microbiological examination of sputum and bronchoscopic respiratory samples - bronchial washing and bronchoalveolar lavage. Efficiency of molecular genetic methods (including express tests) in detecting M. tuberculosis DNA can reach 91-98%. Therefore, treatment may be started without data of microbiological examination. Nevertheless, there are rare cases of false-positive results of PCR in patients with non-tuberculous lung lesions. This aspect often results false diagnosis and delayed verification of true cause of lung lesion. Another adverse effect is associated with anti-tuberculosis therapy. Endoscopic transbronchial lung biopsy and its modern version (transbronchial cryobiopsy) as a minimally invasive diagnostic procedure are performed in such patients. These methods require a sufficiently high experience and qualification of specialist and following such aspects as navigation techniques and balloon bronchial blocking. We present this clinical case as a demonstration of modern possibilities of multimodal navigational bronchoscopic diagnosis with transbronchial cryobiopsy for local pulmonary infiltrate.