Suspect Pulmonary Fibrosis

Family physicians play an important role in the early detection of pulmonary fibrosis (PF). The Ohio Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP) has partnered with Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (BI) to bring you key educational content through its Partners in Health program.

PF is a common threat across interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), a group of serious lung conditions – some with a fatal prognosis.^1,2 It is critical to recognize and refer patients with suspected PF to a lung specialist to help patients get the care and treatment they need.

As the symptoms of PF overlap with those of common diseases such as asthma, COPD, or CHF, it is often misdiagnosed.³ Up to 55% of patients are misdiagnosed at least once.⁴ Family physicians are often the first point of contact when patients experience chronic breathlessness, so it is important we provide our members with the educational tools to recognize and refer patients to a pulmonary specialist if PF is suspected.

Recognize symptoms early such as chronic nonproductive cough, breathlessness, dyspnea on exertion, and velcro-like crackles on lung auscultation.^2,5,6 In conjunction with BI, we are pleased to offer you a comprehensive collection of educational resources to assist you with recognizing and referring patients with PF, which can be accessed via http://www.insightsinild.com/pfforthehcp or through our Partners in Health page where you can find useful tools and resources. PC-US-117102

1. Cottin V et al. Eur Respir Rev. 2018;27(150):180076.
2. Demedts M et al. Eur Respir J. 2001;18(suppl 32):2s-16s.
3. Zibrak JD, Price D. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med. 2014;24:14054.
4. Cosgrove GP et al. BMC Pulm Med. 2018;18(1):9.
5. Raghu G et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2011;183(6):788-824.
6. Wong C et al. Cureus. 2018;10(10):e3991.