RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Clinical use of nintedanib in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
JF BMJ Open Respiratory Research
JO BMJ Open Resp Res
FD British Thoracic Society
SP e000192
DO 10.1136/bmjresp-2017-000192
VO 4
IS 1
A1 Amy Hajari Case
A1 Peace Johnson
YR 2017
UL http://bmjopenrespres.bmj.com/content/4/1/e000192.abstract
AB Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a rare lung disease characterised by progressive loss of lung function, dyspnoea and cough. IPF has a variable clinical course but a poor prognosis. Nintedanib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is one of two drugs approved for the treatment of IPF. In clinical trials, nintedanib slowed disease progression by reducing the rate of decline in forced vital capacity (FVC) in patients with IPF and mild or moderate lung function impairment. The effect of nintedanib was consistent across patient subgroups defined by baseline characteristics including FVC % predicted, diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide % predicted and the presence of emphysema. Recently, it has been shown that the rate of decline in FVC and the treatment effect of nintedanib are the same in patients with preserved lung volume (FVC >90% predicted) as in patients with greater impairment in FVC, supporting the value of early treatment of IPF. The adverse events most commonly associated with nintedanib, both in clinical trials and real-world clinical practice, are mild gastrointestinal events, particularly diarrhoea. Side effects are manageable in a majority of patients through symptomatic treatment, dose reductions and treatment interruptions, enabling most patients to stay on treatment in the long term.