ArticleRespiratory research2021
Pirfenidone vs. nintedanib in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a retrospective cohort study.
Article in Respiratory research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 54 citations in OpenAlex.
- Economic Burden of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: Updated Evidence on Costs and Resource Use.PharmacoEconomics · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy of antifibrotic drugs, nintedanib and pirfenidone, in treatment of progressive pulmonary fibrosis in both idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and non-IPF: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Impact of antifibrotic therapy on disease progression, all-cause mortality, and risk of acute exacerbation in non-IPF fibrosing interstitial lung diseases: evidence from a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and prospective controlled studies.Therapeutic advances in respiratory diseasePooled it
- Trial
- Comparative Clinical Outcomes of Nintedanib and Pirfenidone in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: A Five-year Real-life Study.Thoracic research and practice · 2026Article
- Biosurfactant-Based Interventions for Improving Lung Function and Controlling Inflammation.Pharmaceutical research · 2026Review
- Doublecortin-like kinase 1 promotes fibroblast activation and fibrotic progression through Smad3 binding in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.Journal of biomedical science · 2026Article
- MICA-129Met/Val as a therapeutic compass in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: prognosis and antifibrotic benefit.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Evaluation of Factors Affecting Mortality in Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: A 10-Year Single-Center Experience.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Integrative analysis of the therapeutic mechanisms of Astragaloside IV in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis via network pharmacology and molecular validation.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Comparative Long-term Effects of Nintedanib and Pirfenidone in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: A Real-life Study with Five-year Follow-up.Thoracic research and practice · 2025Article
- Long-term treatment with nintedanib and pirfenidone in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a comparative, real-world cohort study.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2025Article
- Survival impact and safety comparison of pirfenidone and nintedanib for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: A meta-analysis.Sarcoidosis, vasculitis, and diffuse lung diseases : official journal of WASOG · 2025Article
- Comparing survival outcomes of anti-fibrotic therapy for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis with and without emphysema: a multi-center real-world study from Taiwan.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2025Article
- Amphiregulin in Fibrotic Diseases and Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Diosgenin ameliorates silica-induced tuberculosis in rats.Animal models and experimental medicine · 2025Article
- Comparison of the Effects of Nintedanib and Pirfenidone on Pulmonary Function Test Parameters and Radiological Findings in Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: A Real-Life Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Article
- Patient Profile-Based Management with Nintedanib in Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.Pulmonary therapy · 2024Review
- Lung cell transplantation for pulmonary fibrosis.Science advances · 2024Article
- Bibliometric analysis of the pirfenidone and nintedanib in interstitial lung diseases.Heliyon · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTwo antifibrotic drugs, pirfenidone and nintedanib, are licensed for the treatment of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). However, there is neither evidence from prospective data nor a guideline recommendation, which drug should be preferred over the other. This study aimed to compare pirfenidone and nintedanib-treated patients regarding all-cause mortality, all-cause and respiratory-related hospitalizations, and overall as well as respiratory-related health care costs borne by the Statutory Health Insurance (SHI).
methodsA retrospective cohort study with SHI data was performed, including IPF patients treated either with pirfenidone or nintedanib. Stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) based on propensity scores was applied to adjust for observed covariates. Weighted Cox models were estimated to analyze mortality and hospitalization. Weighted cost differences with bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals (CI) were applied for cost analysis.
resultsWe compared 840 patients treated with pirfenidone and 713 patients treated with nintedanib. Both groups were similar regarding two-year all-cause mortality (HR: 0.90 95% CI: 0.76; 1.07), one-year all cause (HR: 1.09, 95% CI: 0.95; 1.25) and respiratory-related hospitalization (HR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.72; 1.08). No significant differences were observed regarding total (€- 807, 95% CI: €- 2977; €1220) and respiratory-related (€- 1282, 95% CI: €- 3423; €534) costs.
conclusionOur analyses suggest that the patient-related outcomes mortality, hospitalization, and costs do not differ between the two currently available antifibrotic drugs pirfenidone and nintedanib. Hence, the decision on treatment with pirfenidone versus treatment with nintedanib ought to be made case-by-case taking clinical characteristics, comorbidities, comedications, individual risk of side effects, and patients' preferences into account.
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