Current clinical practice including treatment patterns and pathways in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients in China: A real-world analysis

In China, limited real-world evidence exists regarding treatment practices, clinical pathways, and disease burden for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). This study seeks to describe the patient journey from symptom development to IPF diagnosis and antifibrotic (AF) initiation of newly diagnosed IPF patients in China. This retrospective, non-interventional cohort study analyzed existing data from newly diagnosed IPF patients in the SuValue® database. Time from IPF symptom onset to diagnosis and from diagnosis to AF initiation were measured. Characteristics of patients diagnosed early (<6 months) and late (>6 months) were described. Treatment patterns of AF and non-AF therapies and healthcare resource use (HCRU) and costs were assessed. The study included 3977 mostly male (72.3%) and elderly (mean age: 70.7 years) patients. Median time from the first documented IPF-related symptom to formal diagnosis was 17.9 months, and only 17.1% of patients were diagnosed within 6 months from symptom onset. 1852 patients (46.6%) initiated any AF therapies during the course of disease, and 1354 (73.1%) IPF patients initiated treatment within the first four weeks of their IPF diagnosis. 72.5% of IPF patients who initiated AF treatment discontinued within one-year. Concomitant medication use was prevalent; 70.3% of patients received systemic corticosteroids during follow-up. Healthcare resource utilization and costs increased markedly after diagnosis and were high among patients receiving AF therapy. Overall, this study highlights critical evidence gaps in the Chinese IPF management of the disease as patients face substantial diagnostic delays, inconsistent initiation of AF therapy, and high discontinuation. • This first real-world study reveals a 17.9-month diagnostic delay for IPF in China. • Nearly half (46.6%) of IPF patients initiated antifibrotic therapy after diagnosis. • The time from diagnosis to treatment initiation was short (median 3 days). • 72.5% of IPF patients discontinued antifibrotic therapy within one year. • High use of corticosteroid and traditional medicine was observed.