Treatment of gastroesophageal reflux (GER) increase survival rate for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients

Since pulmonary fibrosis patients often experience with gastroesophageal reflux (GER), the researchers found that treating this disease could increase the survival rate among those patients.

Whether GER as a consequences of having idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) or treating IPF may increase survival rate, at least current study found that taking GER medications can reduce fibrosis score (using radiologic) compared with non-GER medications group.

This conclusion based on anaylzed data of 204 patients (mean age was 70) with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis at two centers over a 7-year period.

Reported in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine on June 23, 2011, the team found that GER medication was significantly increase survival rate with a mortality hazard ratio of 0.47 (p=0.03) and 14% of fibrosis score vs 19% in non-GER medications.

However, the study authors acknowledged that further study needed to confirm their finding.