Survival in Patients with Pulmonary Fibrosis and Emphysema
Author Information
Author(s): Todd Nevins W, Jeudy Jean, Lavania Sachin, Franks Teri J, Galvin Jeffrey R, Deepak Janaki, Britt Edward J, Atamas Sergei P
Primary Institution: University of Maryland School of Medicine
Hypothesis
Patients with pulmonary fibrosis combined with emphysema may have different clinical characteristics and outcomes than patients with pulmonary fibrosis in the absence of emphysema.
Conclusion
Patients with pulmonary fibrosis combined with advanced centrilobular or mixed emphysema have an improved survival compared with patients with pulmonary fibrosis without emphysema, with trivial emphysema or with advanced paraseptal emphysema.
Supporting Evidence
- Patients with advanced emphysema had a median survival of 63 months compared to 29 months for those without emphysema.
- Median forced vital capacity and total lung capacity were higher in the advanced emphysema group compared to patients with no emphysema.
- Survival was significantly longer for patients with centrilobular or mixed emphysema compared to those with paraseptal emphysema.
Takeaway
This study found that people with lung scarring and severe emphysema live longer than those with just lung scarring or mild emphysema.
Methodology
The study analyzed clinical characteristics, pulmonary function tests, and patient survival in 102 patients with pulmonary fibrosis, categorizing them based on the presence and severity of emphysema.
Limitations
The study is observational and retrospective, and cytokine levels were not measured.
Participant Demographics
The cohort included more males (66) than females (36), with a majority being Caucasian (69).
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.0001
Confidence Interval
[1st, 3rd quartiles]
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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