Comprehensive Care in Pulmonary Fibrosis
Maria Molina-Molina 1, Marlies Wijsenbeek 2
1 Interstitial Lung Disease Unit, Respiratory Department, University Hospital of Bellvitge, Barcelona; Biomedical Research Institute of Bellvitge (IDIBELL), University of Barcelona, Barcelona; CIBER of Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES), Madrid, Spain; 2 ILD reference centre, Respiratory Department, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
*Correspondence: Maria Molina-Molina, Email not available
Abstract
Pulmonary fibrosis is a respiratory condition that associates progressive loss of quality of life mainly due to respiratory failure with emotional impairment due to the loss of autonomy and the poor prognosis. These clinical conditions and the poor prognosis would require a strategy closer to lung cancer than to other respiratory diseases. However, most centres that manage patients with pulmonary fibrosis have not enough resources to properly provide the multidisciplinary approach that they require. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most frequent and lethal form of lung fibrosis, for which two anti-fibrotic drugs have demonstrated to slow-down disease progression. Both drugs require a close monitoring to ensure adherence and to prevent or reduce adverse effects. Currently, there is an increased demand of improving the multidisciplinary integral treatment of IPF and other lung fibrotic entities to optimise drug benefits and quality of life during the different stages of the disease, including end of life.
