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Table 4 Studies of the association between the numbers of fibroblast foci (FF) to the prognosis of IPF

From: The current position of surgical lung biopsy in the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Study

Patients and method

Results

King et al., Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2001

87 IPF

Granulation/connective tissue score i.e. FF was a significant predictor of survival in patients with IPF

Semiquantitative

Stainings: HE, pentachrome, Prussian blue and toluidine blue

Nicholson et al., Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2002

53 IPF

Mortality of the patients was linked to an increasing FF score, which associated also with greater declines in FVC and DLCO

Semiquantitative

Staining not described

Flaherty et al., Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2003

99 IPF and 9 with connective tissue disease (CTD-UIP)

The profusion of FF associated with the survival of UIP in whole study material, but not in IPF

Semiquantitative

The patients with IPF had higher profusion of FF than the patients with CTD-UIP

Staining not described

 

Tiitto et al., Thorax 2006

64 IPF and 12 CTD-UIP

The number of FF correlated with the survival of the patients. The patients with ≤ 50 FF/cm2 had a median survival of 89 months compared with 49 months in those with >50 FF/cm2

The total number of FF was counted in the area of which was defined by image analysis. The number of FF was divided into two subgroups (≤ 50 or >50 FF/cm2)

Stainings: AB-PAS and HE

The number of FF was lower in CTD-UIP than in IPF

Enomoto et al., Chest 2006

53 IPF

%FF score was a significant predictor of survival in IPF patients

Images of sections were studied by image analysis. %FF was calculated by dividing the area of FF by that of the target field. Overall %FF in each patient was defined as the average %FF > 10 selected cases

HE staining

Hanak et al., Respir Med 2008

43 IPF

No significant relationship between FF profusion and survival

FF was counted by using a conventional point-counting technique. The number of points intersecting FF was expressed as a fraction of the total points counted on each slide and a mean value was calculated

Staining not described

Lee et al., Sarcoidosis Vasc Diffuse Lung Dis 2011

86 IPF

FF score associated with survival

 

Semiquantitive

 
 

Staining not described

 
  1. Abbreviations:
  2. AE-IPF acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
  3. AB-PAS Alcian blues periodic acid Schiff.
  4. COP cryptogenic organizing pneumonia.
  5. CTD-ILD connective tissue associated interstitial lung disease.
  6. DLCO diffusion capacity.
  7. HE haematoxylin-eosin.
  8. ILD interstitial lung disease.
  9. ICU intensive care unit.
  10. IPF idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
  11. NSIP nonspecific interstitial pneumonia.
  12. RBILD respiratory bronchiolitis and interstitial lung disease.
  13. OLB surgical lung biopsy taken by thoracotomic surgical operation.
  14. VATS surgical lung biopsy taken bb video-assisted thoracotomic surgical operation.
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Respiratory Research

ISSN: 1465-993X

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