Effectiveness and safety of pirfenidone for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Objectives: To assess the long-term effectiveness of pirfenidone in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) treatment and to establish its adverse effects profile.

Methods: Retrospective observational study in patients with IPF who initiated treatment with pirfenidone between 2011 and 2016. We collected demographic variables (age, sex); date of first and last treatment; reason for discontinuation; pulmonary function measures (forced vital capacity (FVC), carbon monoxide diffusion capacity (DLCO), and 6 min walk test (6MWT)) at treatment initiation (baseline) and at 1, 2 and 3 year follow-up; adherence to pirfenidone treatment; recorded adverse effects; and mortality.