Reply to Letter to the Editor - Mechanical ventilation in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: Unresolved dilemma

We are grateful to Dr’s Santos et al. for their comments on our article. Indeed, a critical limitation of studies employing large databases is the lack of granular patient-level data. The character of the underlying disease and the severity of illness at presentation undoubtedly plays a role in determining a patient’s suitability for mechanical ventilation, although the significance of individual measures remains unclear.1 We did not intend to investigate prognostic factors, and further prospective work is needed to help determine which cohort of patients may benefit most from mechanical ventilation (MV).

Source: Respiratory Medicine CME - May 31, 2016 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Barret Rush, Katie Wiskar, Landon Berger, Donald Griesdale Source Type: research