• Sanjay Kalra, James P Utz, Jay H Ryu, and Mayo Clinic Interstitial Lung Diseases Group.
• Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. 55905, USA. kalra.sanjay@mayo.edu
• Mayo Clin. Proc. 2003 Sep 1; 78 (9): 1082-7.

ObjectiveTo report on observations made in a group of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis/usual interstitial pneumonia (IPF/UIP) who were treated with interferon gamma-1b.Patients And MethodsWe reviewed the clinical records, radiological studies, and pulmonary function data of all patients treated with interferon gamma-1b between January 2000 and March 2002 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.ResultsTwenty-one patients (mean age, 68 years; range, 52-80 years) were treated with interferon gamma-1b for a mean duration of 82 months (range, 3-21 months). All patients had been diagnosed previously as having IPF/UIP based on clinical, pulmonary function, and chest high-resolution computed tomographic scan criteria; 12 patients had also undergone video-assisted thoracoscopic surgical lung biopsy. Baseline pulmonary function data (mean +/- SEM percent predicted) were as follows: total lung capacity, 57.3 +/- 2.5; vital capacity, 55.0 +/- 3.3; diffusing capacity of lung for carbon monoxide, 39.7 +/- 2.8; and forced expiratory volume in 1 second, 58.1 +/- 3.6. Only 1 patient showed symptomatic and functional improvement, and 7 discontinued treatment because of a perceived lack of benefit. Eleven patients (52%) died after a mean of 6.4 months of treatment, and follow-up pulmonary function data suggested continued worsening in all but 1 patient.ConclusionThese observations do not support the use of interferon gamma-lb therapy for patients with advanced IPF/UIP.

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