SynthesisEuropean journal of medical research2021
The effects and safety of pirfenidone in the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a meta-analysis and systematic review.
Synthesis in European journal of medical research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of antifibrotics on health-related quality of life in patients with interstitial lung disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Therapeutic advances in respiratory diseasePooled it
- Multi-omics insights into the mechanisms and prognosis of IPF.Genes and environment : the official journal of the Japanese Environmental Mutagen Society · 2026Review
- Beyond attenuation: a translational review of curative-intent pharmacological targets in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Adverse side-effects of antifibrotic drugs and outcome of treatment in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.Journal of thoracic disease · 2025Article
- The novel AT2 receptor ligand, β-Pro7 Ang III, induces equivalent anti-fibrotic effects to Compound 21 but broader anti-fibrotic effects than pirfenidone in mice with bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis.Clinical science (London, England : 1979) · 2025Article
- Current Understanding of Pulmonary Fibrosis: Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Therapeutic Approaches.Canadian respiratory journal · 2025Review
- Pirfenidone use in fibrotic diseases: What do we know so far?Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2024Review
- Antifibrotic treatment response comparison of progressive pulmonary fibrosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.Turkish journal of medical sciences · 2024Article
- Safety and tolerability of combination treatment with pirfenidone and nintedanib in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of thoracic disease · 2023Article
- Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: Addressing the current and future therapeutic advances along with the role of Sotatercept in the management of pulmonary hypertension.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2023Review
- Review
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Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIt is necessary to systematically evaluate the efficacy and adverse reactions of pirfenidone in the treatment of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
methodsPubmed et al. databases were searched up to March 15, 2021 for randomized controlled trials (RCT) of pirfenidone in the treatment of IPF. Two authors collected and compared the indicators including progression-free survival (PFS), vital capacity (VC), forced vital capacity (FVC), and adverse reactions. RevMan 5.3 software and Stata 15.0 software were used for meta-analysis.
resultsA total of 8 reports with 9 RCTs involving 1824 IPF patients were included. Meta-analysis results showed that compared with the control group, pirfenidone could prolong the PFS phase of IPF patients (HR = 0.65, 95% CI 0.55 ~ 0.76, P < 0.001), slow down the VC of IPF patients (SMD = 0.43, 95% CI 0.21 ~ 0.66, P < 0.001), and decrease FVC (SMD = 0.31, 95% CI 0.14 ~ 0.48, P < 0.001). The main adverse reactions of pirfenidone were gastrointestinal reactions, photosensitivity and skin rashes.
conclusionPirfenidone is beneficial to prolong the PFS of IPF patients, improve lung function, and it is safe for clinical use. However, more high-quality RCTs are still needed to provide reliable evidence for the treatment of IPF.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.