The educational handouts for DPIs helped participants already using a DPI to improve their inhaler technique. Stable participants diagnosed with COPD are able to generate appropriate PIFs to properly use DPIs. Neither vision nor health literacy was associated with the inability to learn inhaler technique from patient education inhaler device handouts.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, progressive fibrosing interstitial lung disease of unknown aetiology. Patients typically present with symptoms of chronic dyspnoea and cough over a period of months to years. IPF has a poor prognosis, with an average life expectancy of 3–5 years from diagnosis if left untreated. Two anti-fibrotic medications (nintedanib and pirfenidone) have been approved for the treatment of IPF. These drugs slow disease progression by reducing decline in lung function. Early diagnosis is crucial to ensure timely treatment selection and improve outcomes. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) plays a major role in the diagnosis of IPF. In this narrative review, we discuss the importance of early diagnosis, awareness among primary care physicians, lung cancer screening programmes and early IPF detection, and barriers to accessing anti-fibrotic medications.

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