Management of musculoskeletal pain in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a review

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, progressive, fibrotic, and fatal interstitial lung disease (ILD) of unknown etiology that primarily affects the elderly. Patients with IPF suffer from a heavy symptom burden and usually have a poor quality of life. Dyspnea and dry cough are predomina...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Svetlana Kašiković Lečić, Jovan Javorac, Dejan Živanović, Aleksandra Lovrenski, Dragana Tegeltija, Jelena Zvekić Svorcan, Jadranka Maksimović
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Upsala Medical Society 2022-07-01
Series:Upsala Journal of Medical Sciences
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Online Access:https://ujms.net/index.php/ujms/article/view/8739/14759
Description
Summary:Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, progressive, fibrotic, and fatal interstitial lung disease (ILD) of unknown etiology that primarily affects the elderly. Patients with IPF suffer from a heavy symptom burden and usually have a poor quality of life. Dyspnea and dry cough are predominant symptoms of IPF. Although pain is not considered one of the main symptoms of IPF, it can occur for a variety of reasons, such as hypoxia, coughing, muscle and nerve damage, deconditioning, and steroid use. The prevalence of pain in IPF patients varies greatly, ranging from around 30 to 80%, with the prevalence being estimated mostly among patients in the end-of-life period. It manifests itself in the form of muscle pain, joint discomfort, or back and chest pain. Approaches to the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain in patients with IPF include pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures that are also important to optimize the treatment of other symptoms (dyspnea and cough) and the optimal treatment of comorbidities. Given the scarcity of data on this symptom in the literature, this article summarizes what is currently known about the etiology and treatment of musculoskeletal pain in IPF.
ISSN:0300-9734
2000-1967