Matsumura T, et al. – The current study was expected to explore whether the administration of pirfenidone (PFD) improved the outcomes of acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia (AE-IP). Results of this study suggested that PFD could reduce the inflammation in AE-IP patients undergoing corticosteroid treatment.

Methods

• A retrospective study was conducted.
• Participants were thirty-one patients with AE-IP who did not recover between 7 and 14 days after an initial treatment.
• 14 patients received PFD within 2 weeks (PFD group) of the AE.
• On the other hand, seventeen patients were treated without PFD (Non-PFD group).
• The patients' clinical data and computed tomography (CT) scores were investigated.

Results

• The analysis in this study showed that the survival rate in the PFD group was not significantly different from Non-PFD group at 30 (78.6% vs 64.7%, P = 0.46) and 90 days (64.3% vs 52.9%, P = 0.72).
• Findings revealed that the white blood cells (WBC) counts in the PFD group were significantly lower on PFD day 14 than on PFD days 1 and 7.
• It was noted that the C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in the PFD group were also significantly lower on PFD day 7 than on PFD day 1.
• No significant differences were found regarding the changes of the CT scores.