Prognostic factors and disease behaviour of pathologically proven fibrotic non-specific interstitial pneumonia.

Non-specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) has heterogeneous characteristics in terms of background, disease behaviour and prognosis. This study of fibrotic NSIP (f-NSIP) aimed to elucidate prognosis and disease behaviour from the viewpoint of clinical background and determine whether long-term change of pulmonary function could provide useful prognostic information. We analysed the medical records of 157 consecutive patients diagnosed with f-NSIP by surgical lung biopsy. Disease behaviour was categorized into two groups depending on long-term change of pulmonary function: progressive type (relative ≥5%/year decline in the slope of forced vital capacity and/or relative ≥7.5%/year decline in the slope of %diffusing capacity of lung carbon monoxide) or stable type. Predictors of disease behaviour and prognosis were determined using logistic and Cox regression models. Our f-NSIP cohort included interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF) (36.9%), idiopathic (non-IPAF) (22.3%) and connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease (40.8%). Multivariate analysis showed that idiopathic (non-IPAF) f-NSIP and progressive type disease were negative prognostic factors of mortality. Poor treatment response at 1 year was an independent predictor of progressive type disease, but was not related to survival. In terms of disease behaviour based on pulmonary function change, some patients with IPAF f-NSIP showed a progressive course. Although an IPAF diagnosis was useful for identifying good prognosis in idiopathic f-NSIP, some idiopathic f-NSIP patients with or without IPAF showed progressive disease despite therapy. The definition of progressive type disease may be useful in clinical decision-making when determining therapy for f-NSIP.

Yamakawa H ，Kitamura H ，Takemura T ，Ikeda S ，Sekine A ，Baba T ，Iwasawa T ，Hagiwara E ，Sato S ，Ogura T ... -  《-》

Distinctive characteristics and prognostic significance of interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features in patients with chronic fibrosing interstitial pneumonia.

Interstitial lung diseases are heterogeneous, and patients with chronic fibrosing interstitial pneumonia (CFIP) often have clinical, serologic, and morphologic features suggestive but not diagnostic of connective tissue disease. Recently, the concept of interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF) has been proposed as a platform for such patients. However, the prognostic role of IPAF, including the cumulative incidence of acute exacerbations (AEs), is not fully clear. The aim of this study was to elucidate the clinical features and prognostic significance of IPAF. The clinical characteristics and prognostic relevance of a diagnosis of IPAF were retrospectively explored in 194 patients with CFIP, including 163 with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and 31 with nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP), in our interstitial lung disease database. Sixteen percent of patients with CFIP (8% of IPF, 61% of NSIP) met the criteria for IPAF. Patients with IPAF were significantly younger and included a higher proportion of women, never-smokers, and patients with NSIP than those without IPAF. The morphologic domain was the most common in patients with IPAF (97%), followed by the serologic domain (72%) and clinical domain (53%). CFIP patients with IPAF had a more favorable prognosis with regard to overall survival (OS; P < 0.001, log-rank test) and incidence of AEs (P = 0.029, Gray's test) than those without IPAF. In the subgroup analysis, NSIP patients with IPAF had significantly better survival than those without IPAF (P = 0.031, log-rank test), and IPF patients with IPAF tended to have better OS than those without IPAF (P = 0.092, log-rank test). However, there were no significant differences in the incidence of AEs between patients with IPAF and those without IPAF in the IPF and NSIP subgroups. Furthermore, fulfilment of the IPAF criteria was an independent predictor of OS (hazard ratio (HR) 0.127; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.017-0.952; P = 0.045) and incidence of AEs (HR 0.225: 95% CI 0.054-0.937; P = 0.040). A diagnosis of IPAF might predict a favorable prognosis and less risk of AEs in patients with CFIP.

Yoshimura K ，Kono M ，Enomoto Y ，Nishimoto K ，Oyama Y ，Yasui H ，Hozumi H ，Karayama M ，Suzuki Y ，Furuhashi K ，Enomoto N ，Fujisawa T ，Nakamura Y ，Inui N ，Sumikawa H ，Johkoh T ，Colby TV ，Sugimura H ，Suda T ... -  《-》

Clinical features and natural history of interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features: A single center experience.

To describe the clinical phenotype and natural history of a cohort of patients with interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF). A retrospective, single center study of 56 patients with IPAF evaluated between February 2008 and August 2014. All clinical data were extracted from the electronic medical record and longitudinal changes in forced vital capacity (FVC) were analyzed with mixed-effects, piecewise linear regression models that considered time as a continuous factor. All patients fulfilled classification criteria for IPAF. The majority were women (71%) and never smokers (68%). The most frequently identified clinical features were Raynaud's phenomenon (39%), distal digital fissuring (29%), Gottron's sign (18%) and inflammatory arthropathy (16%). The most frequently identified serologies were antinuclear antibody (ANA) (48%), anti-Ro (SSA) (43%) and anti-tRNA-synthetase antibodies (36%). Nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) (57.1%) followed by NSIP with organizing pneumonia (18%) were the most common radiologic patterns, while usual interstitial pneumonia was identified in only 9%. All but one patient was treated with immunosuppression: prednisone (82%) and mycophenolate mofetil (76%) were the most frequently used agents. During a follow-up period of 284.9 ± 141.3 days, modeled longitudinal FVC% was stable (slope = 0.69/year) and no deaths were observed in the cohort. In this single center study, patients with IPAF were predominately non-smoking women with high-resolution computed tomography scans that suggested NSIP. Their pulmonary physiology was stable, and during limited follow-up, no deaths were observed. Prospective and multi-center studies are needed to better inform our understanding of IPAF.

Chartrand S ，Swigris JJ ，Stanchev L ，Lee JS ，Brown KK ，Fischer A ... -  《-》

Evaluation of changes in the serum levels of Krebs von den Lungen-6 and surfactant protein-D over time as important biomarkers in idiopathic fibrotic nonspecific interstitial pneumonia.

Some cases of idiopathic fibrotic nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (f-NSIP) show a progressive course that is similar to that of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. However, it is difficult to predict poor patient outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate whether serial changes in serum levels of Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) and surfactant protein-D (SP-D) can predict disease progression. We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 75 patients with idiopathic f-NSIP. Disease behavior was categorized into two groups depending on long-term change of pulmonary function: progressive type (≥5%/year relative decline in the slope of forced vital capacity [FVC] and/or ≥7.5%/year relative decline in the slope of %diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide [%DLCO]) and stable type. Levels of KL-6 and SP-D and results of pulmonary function tests, which were performed parallelly, were reviewed and analyzed using a linear mixed-effects model. The study subjects comprised 62 patients with stable type and 13 patients with progressive type disease behavior. Among these subjects, 50 patients fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF). Serum levels of both KL-6 and SP-D at baseline showed a negative correlation with %DLCO, but not with FVC, and these biomarkers were not related to disease progression. Persistently high levels of KL-6 and SP-D correlated with progressive type disease behavior in idiopathic (non-IPAF) f-NSIP. Changes in serum KL-6 and SP-D levels over time may provide useful predictive information on disease behavior during treatment in patients with idiopathic f-NSIP and especially in those with non-IPAF f-NSIP.

Yamakawa H ，Hagiwara E ，Ikeda S ，Iwasawa T ，Otoshi R ，Tabata E ，Okuda R ，Sekine A ，Baba T ，Iso S ，Okudela K ，Takemura T ，Ogura T ... -  《-》

Serological and morphological prognostic factors in patients with interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features.

Ito Y ，Arita M ，Kumagai S ，Takei R ，Noyama M ，Tokioka F ，Nishimura K ，Koyama T ，Notohara K ，Ishida T ... -  《BMC Pulmonary Medicine》