Management and attitudes about IPF (Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis) among physicians from Latin America

Abstract

BackgroundThe aim of our study was to assess current practice patterns and attitudes towards diagnosis and management of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients in Latin America.MethodsA Cross-sectional survey was developed and up to 455 physicians were enrolled. We used a rigorous method of validation using the translated version of the AIR Survey.ResultsMean age was 47.5 years (SD 12.6) with 20.4 years (SD 12.3) of practice. In around 30% of physicians were reported access to radiologist, pathologist and multidisciplinary team. Despite almost all physicians reported that (ATS/ERS/JRS/ALAT) guidelines are useful, half of them prescribed corticoids for treatment of disease. Most respondents (69.9%) reported cough as the presenting symptom. Around 80% considered IPF to be an important clinical disorder, and felt that identifying patients at risk for IPF was important or extremely important. However, only 59.7% felt confident in managing patients with IPF, and similar numbers (60.8%) felt confident about their knowledge. Pulmonologist have more confidence and management of IPF that no pulmonologist.ConclusionThe results of this survey of Latin American physicians could help to fill gaps regarding awareness, management and treatment of IPF and improve earlier diagnosis of IPF.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12890-017-0569-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: Educational needs of health-care providers, patients, and caregivers

“…[2][3][4] Several studies have been conducted to gauge physicians' perceptions of IPF and to identify unmet informational needs of providers and patients. [4][5][6][7][8] None has compared and contrasted views of patients, caregivers, and providers around these topics. Identifying discrepancies and leveraging areas of agreement could enhance quality of care and empower patients and their caregivers as they live with IPF.…”

Segurança e tolerabilidade de Nintedanibe em pacientes com fibrose pulmonar idiopática no Brasil

“…In a recent survey of 455 physicians from Latin America, 29% and 48% prescribed N-acetylcysteine and corticosteroids, respectively, for the treatment of IPF. (24) These findings suggest that use of these low-cost therapies remains high in Latin America despite the lack of evidence supporting their efficacy as treatments for IPF. (11,25,26) In conclusion, in an EAP for patients with IPF in Brazil, nintedanib 150 mg bid had an acceptable safety and tolerability profile, consistent with that observed in clinical trials.…”

Challenges in the Management of Post-COVID-19 Pulmonary Fibrosis for the Latin American Population

“…Expectedly, the diagnosis could go unnoticed when performing spirometric tests. However, there are other methods of assessing the most distal airway, such as the MBW (multiple breathing washout) with its indicators, namely LCI (lung clearance index) and FRC (functional residual capacity), and secondly, oscillometry using the forced oscillation technique (FOT) [53,54].…”