Can pulmonary fibrosis be cured? How to treat it?

Pulmonary fibrosis is a complex disease. If not treated in time, the lungs will be severely damaged and life-threatening. There are currently several methods for treating pulmonary fibrosis, and the method should be selected based on the condition of the disease. If the condition is severe, lung transplantation is required.

1. Pulmonary fibrosis, also known as interstitial lung disease, is a complex group of diseases. The specific treatment measures formulated by experienced doctors are based on multiple factors such as the cause, disease type, severity, patient age, all health and medical history, and other co-existing health problems. Moreover, this treatment measure is also adjusted according to treatment response, drug tolerance and changes in the condition. Therefore, the treatment measures for each patient may not be exactly the same.

2. For some interstitial lung diseases with clear causes, the primary treatment measure is to treat the cause, such as leaving the dusty environment, giving up pets, stopping the use of suspected drugs, etc. After eliminating the cause, combined treatment with hormones if necessary, the condition can often be effectively controlled; if it is interstitial pulmonary edema caused by left heart failure, etc., anti-heart failure treatment is the main treatment; if it is interstitial pneumonia related to connective tissue diseases, vasculitis, etc., the treatment of the primary disease should be the main treatment. With the control of the primary disease, pulmonary interstitial fibrosis can also be improved.

3. For interstitial lung diseases of unknown cause, the treatment methods and treatment responses are not exactly the same for different disease types. For diseases that require treatment, such as sarcoidosis, nonspecific interstitial pneumonia, cryptogenic organizing pneumonia, etc., hormones are currently the most commonly used and preferred effective treatment. In addition to hormones, smoking cessation is a very important treatment measure for respiratory bronchiolitis with interstitial lung disease and desquamative interstitial pneumonia. For idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, hormones are still the most commonly used drugs. Alternative or combined drugs include cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, etc., but the treatment effects are not satisfactory. Therefore, active research is currently being conducted both at home and abroad to find more effective treatments. Studies have shown that Fluoxetine, pirfenidone, etc. can slow down the decline of lung function or reduce acute exacerbations in patients with pulmonary fibrosis to a certain extent, and the results are encouraging. In addition, some new drugs are constantly being developed and tested. I believe that in the near future there will be more drugs to choose from to treat the stubborn disease of "pulmonary fibrosis".

4. It is worth mentioning that suitable patients can choose lung transplantation treatment. Currently, lung transplantation treatment has become the most effective treatment measure for patients with end-stage lung disease. Although lung transplantation was started relatively late in China and is not yet as well understood and accepted as kidney transplantation and liver transplantation, the results of our nearly 30 lung transplants in the early stage are still encouraging. Currently, most patients are living well and their quality of life has improved significantly.