Functional and prognostic assessment of pulmonary fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is characterized by a progressive and irreversible decline in respiratory function. Thus, prognostic evaluation is an essential step in the management of these patients, based on predictive clinical and functional scores. We studied the value of pulmonary function tests (PFTs) in the prognostic evaluation of IPF. We conducted a study of 70 patients with a diagnosis of IPF. We found strong correlations between GAP and CPI scores and dyspnea, TM6 desaturation, six-minute walk distance and BODE index. These results confirm the sensitivity and reliability of the GAP index and CPI as prognostic scores designed specifically for IPF. Furthermore, the strong correlations found between the GAP index, the CPI and the BODE index confirm their clinico-functional complementarity and could justify the use of the BODE index in IPF.

Autorentext

Dr Khadija AYED: Associate Professor of Physiology and Functional Explorations and Head of the Functional Explorations Department at the Centre d'Expertise de Médecine Aéronautique, Tunisia.Dr Salma MOKADDEM: university hospital assistant in physiology and functional explorations, Faculty of Medicine, Tunis, Tunisia