Since oxygen provides no additional benefit over air in terms of exertional dyspnea for IPF patients without resting hypoxemia, routine prescription of ambulatory oxygen is not recommended. However, assessment on an individual basis is necessary. Trial registration. UMIN Clinical Trial Registry; No.:UMIN000005098; URL:http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/.

We conclude that FFMI is a significant independent predictor of survival in patients with IPF.

No abstract

Background Some patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) develop pneumothorax. However, the characteristics of pneumothorax in patients with IPF have not been elucidated. The purpose of this study was to clarify the clinical course, actual management, and treatment outcomes of pneumothorax in patients with IPF. Methods Consecutive patients with IPF who were admitted for pneumothorax between January 2008 and December 2018 were included. The success rates of treatment for pneumothorax, hospital mortality, and recurrence rate after discharge were examined. Results During the study period, 36 patients with IPF were admitted with pneumothorax a total of 58 times. During the first admission, 15 patients (41.7%) did not receive chest tube drainage, but 21 (58.3%) did. Of the 21 patients, 8 (38.1%) received additional therapy after chest drainage. The respective treatment success rates were 86.6% and 66.7% in patients who underwent observation only vs chest tube drainage. The respective hospital mortality rates were 13.3% and 38.0%. The total pneumothorax recurrence rate after hospital discharge was 34.6% (n = 9). Conclusions Pneumothorax in patients with IPF was difficult to treat successfully, had a relatively poor prognosis, and showed a high recurrence rate.

Many patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) undergo hospitalizations due to pulmonary infections. We retrospectively investigated the characteristics of hospitalizations due to pulmonary infection in patients with IPF to elucidate causative pathogens and mortality. We reviewed patients with IPF who were admitted between January 2008 and December 2014 for pulmonary infections including pneumonia and bronchitis. The causative pathogen, the relationship between the site of pneumonia and existing IPF radiological patterns on high-resolution chest CT, and predictors of mortality were evaluated. Forty-eight IPF patients were hospitalized a totally of 81 times due to pulmonary infection during the study period. In the 48 first-time admissions after IPF diagnosis, causative pathogens were detected in 20 patients (41.6%). The most common pathogen was Haemophilus influenzae (14.5%) followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (4.1%), Staphylococcus aureus (4.1%), Branhamella catarrhalis (4.1%), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (4.1%). Among all 81 admissions, the most common pathogen was P. aeruginosa (12.3%), followed by H. influenzae (8.6%), S. aureus (6.1%) and Escherichia coli (4.9%). No relationship was observed between the detected pathogen and the site of pneumonia. The 30-day and hospital mortality rates were 14.5% and 18.7%, respectively. Pneumonia severity index on admission was significantly associated with both 30-day and hospital mortality. In conclusion, IPF patients hospitalized for pulmonary infections had high 30-day and hospital mortality. In contrast to community-acquired pneumonia, the causative pathogens mainly consisted of gram-negative bacteria. The PSI score may be a significant predictor of mortality. These results provide information for empiric antibiotic selection when treating IPF patients with pulmonary infections.