Survival in pulmonary fibrosis combined with emphysema: likely defined by characteristics of specific patient subpopulations

Nevins W Todd,Sergei P Atamas

doi:10.1186/1755-1536-4-17

Abstract

Authors' Reply to letter from Cottin et al.Please see related letter http://www.fibrogenesis.com/content/4/1/16

Highlights

To the Editor We thank Cottin et al for their interest in our work [1], and for sharing their engaging thoughts
In the study by Cottin et al [2], patients with combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema had a median survival of 6.1 years, a very similar survival time to our patients with advanced centrilobular emphysema combined with pulmonary fibrosis, who had a median survival of 6.2 years (75 months)
Because heavy cigarette smoking has been suggested to play a causative role in patients who develop emphysema combined with pulmonary fibrosis, it is not surprising that the outcomes differed between this study and our report

Summary

Introduction

To the Editor We thank Cottin et al for their interest in our work [1], and for sharing their engaging thoughts. Of important note in this study, patients in the IPF and emphysema group had a median history of smoking of 5 pack-years, whereas in our study, patients with advanced emphysema and pulmonary fibrosis had a median 40 pack-year history of smoking.

Results

Conclusion