How is pulmonary fibrosis treated?

Options: Pulmonary fibrosis is treated with supportive care and oxygen. There are no drugs that have been proven to help at this time although a drug called pirfenidone has been studies and shows progress (it decreases progressive scarring of the lungs). There are also a number of drug trials ongoing in the US and elsewhere to try and find something that works.

Supportive care: Supplemental oxygen, good nutrition and breathing exercises may be of benefit. There is currently no effective treatment to prevent worsening of most pulmonary fibrosis. N-acetyl cyteine supplements are currently being studied along with a medication called perfenidone to see if outcomes are different.

Depends on the Dx: Pulmonary fibrosis is a loose term. Different ild's are treated differently. "idiopathic" pulmonary fibrosis (ipf) is one among more than 200 kinds of ild's . We do not have a very good treatment for ipf. Pirfenidone is the only drug approved outside of us for ipf (none in the usa).

Depends...: It really depends on the type. If you're talking about idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, there's a new drug called pirfenidone. It slows the progression but it isn't curative.