title: Is pirfenidone effective for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis?
abstract: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis has an ominous prognosis and there are virtually no effective therapies. It has been suggested that pirfenidone, an antifibrotic agent, could change its course. Searching in Epistemonikos database, which is maintained by screening multiple databases, we identified 13 systematic reviews comprising nine trials addressing the question of this article, seven of which are randomized and whose results were analyzed in this summary. We combined the evidence using meta-analysis and generated a summary of findings following the GRADE approach. We concluded pirfenidone decreases disease progression and mortality in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Although it is associated with frequent gastrointestinal and cutaneous adverse effects, these are generally not severe.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Proyecto Epistemonikos, Santiago, Chile. Email: glabarcat@gmail.com. Address: Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Diagonal Paraguay 476, Santiago Centro, Chile.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jeldres
authors.affiliation: Proyecto Epistemonikos, Santiago, Chile; Facultad de Medicina, Universidad San Sebastian, Concepción, Chile; Departamento de Medicina Interna, Complejo Asistencial Dr. VÍctor RÍos Ruiz, Los Ángeles, Chile; Programa de Salud Basada en Evidencia, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Gonzalo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Labarca
mesh_terms: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D054990:Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D011728:Pyridones / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D011728:Pyridones; C093844:pirfenidone