Impact of nintedanib on symptoms in individuals with progressive pulmonary fibrosis

According to a recent study, nintedanib exhibited reduced deterioration of dyspnoea, fatigue, and cough, along with the impact of interstitial lung disease (ILD) over a duration of 52 weeks in progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF) patients, as indicated by the changes in Living with Pulmonary Fibrosis (L-PF) questionnaire scores. This study's findings were published in the European Respiratory Journal.

This study included 663 patients who had a fibrosing[DKJ1] [SB2]  interstitial lung disease (ILD) other than idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis that affected more than 10% of their lungs on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and met the interstitial lung disease progression criteria within before 24 months. They were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either nintedanib or placebo. Mixed models for repeated measures were used to analyze the variations in L-PF questionnaire scores from baseline to week 52.

The nintedanib group exhibited significantly smaller increases [worsening’s] in various measures when compared to the placebo group. The adjusted mean L-PF questionnaire total score showed a difference of 0.5 versus 5.1, symptoms score showed a difference of 1.3 versus 5.3, dyspnoea score showed a difference of 4.3 versus 7.8, and fatigue score showed a difference of 0.7 versus 4.0 at week 52. The nintedanib group exhibited a decrease in the L-PF cough score (-1.8) while the placebo group exhibited an increase in the cough score (4.3). Additionally, the L-PF impacts score exhibited a slight reduction (-0.2) in the nintedanib group while the placebo group exhibited an increase (4.6) in the impacts score. These findings were similar among patients with a usual interstitial pneumonia-like fibrotic pattern on HRCT as well as those with other fibrotic patterns on HRCT.

The above study demonstrated that nintedanib decreased the worsening of dyspnoea, fatigue, and cough, as well as the impact of ILD in patients with PPF throughout a 52-week period. This positive effect was measured by the changes observed in the scores of the L-PF questionnaire.