Influence of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Progression on Healthcare Resource Use

Hospitalisation during a 3-month interval was significantly associated with a drop of at least 5 or 10 points in FVC%pred (odds ratios [ORs] 1.58 [p？=？0.009] and 2.62 [p？<？0.001]) and associated with the occurrence of at least one acute exacerbation (OR 14.44; p？<？0.001) during the same interval. The above factors remained significant when repeating the analysis for hospitalisation based on change in FVC%pred or events occurring during the previous 3 months interval. Smoker status and a unit change in FVC%pred during the previous interval were added to the significant factors. Physician visits during a 3-month interval were significantly associated with a lower FVC%pred at the start of the interval (per 10-point decrement, OR 1.05; p？=？0.040) and with the change in FVC%pred during the same interval (per 10-point loss, OR 1.13; p？=？0.042). Visits were also associated with a 5-point drop in FVC%pred (OR 1.23; p？=？0.020), age (per 5-year increments OR 1.07; p？=？0.028), and female sex (OR 1.32; p？=？0.017). Nevertheless, the predictive power of the models was considered poor for both outcomes (hospitalisation and physician visits)