Patient eligibility for anti-fibrotic therapy in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis can be altered by use of different sets of reference values for calculation of FVC percent predicted

Respir Med. 2016 Nov:120:131-133. doi: 10.1016/j.rmed.2016.10.007. Epub 2016 Oct 14.

Abstract

Antifibrotic drugs for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients in England and Scotland are only available to those with FVC percent predicted (FVC%pred) less than or equal to 80%. The prescribing guidance does not state which set of reference values should be used and we show that a patient's FVC%pred can change by 4-6% depending on the choice of reference. We calculated FVC%pred for a group of 528 IPF patients using three different sets of reference values. 90% of patients with FVC%pred 80-85% calculated using European Community Coal and Steel (ECSC) reference values fall into the eligible range when NHANES reference values are used.

Keywords: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; Interstitial lung disease; Respiratory function tests.

Publication types

  • Letter
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • England / epidemiology
  • England / ethnology
  • Female
  • Forced Expiratory Volume / physiology
  • Humans
  • Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis / ethnology
  • Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis / therapy*
  • Male
  • Nutrition Surveys / standards
  • Reference Values
  • Respiratory Function Tests / methods
  • Scotland / epidemiology
  • Vital Capacity / physiology*