A silent march-Post covid fibrosis in asymptomatics - A cause for concern?

We report a case series of patients presenting with undiagnosed pulmonary fibrosis as a primary manifestation. On evaluation, after excluding other causes, the fibrosis was attributed to asymptomatic or mild COVID illness in the past. This case series serves to highlight the difficulties posed to clinicians while evaluating pulmonary fibrosis in the post-COVID era, more so in mild to asymptomatic COVID-19. The intriguing possibility of fibrosis setting even in mild to asymptomatic COVID is discussed.

Identification of the effects of COVID-19 on patients with pulmonary fibrosis and lung cancer: a bioinformatics analysis and literature review.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) poses a serious threat to human health and life. The effective prevention and treatment of COVID-19 complications have become crucial to saving patients' lives. During the phase of mass spread of the epidemic, a large number of patients with pulmonary fibrosis and lung cancers were inevitably infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Lung cancers have the highest tumor morbidity and mortality rates worldwide, and pulmonary fibrosis itself is one of the complications of COVID-19. Idiopathic lung fibrosis (IPF) and various lung cancers (primary and metastatic) become risk factors for complications of COVID-19 and significantly increase mortality in patients. Therefore, we applied bioinformatics and systems biology approaches to identify molecular biomarkers and common pathways in COVID-19, IPF, colorectal cancer (CRC) lung metastasis, SCLC and NSCLC. We identified 79 DEGs between COVID-19, IPF, CRC lung metastasis, SCLC and NSCLC. Meanwhile, based on the transcriptome features of DSigDB and common DEGs, we identified 10 drug candidates. In this study, 79 DEGs are the common core genes of the 5 diseases. The 10 drugs were found to have positive effects in treating COVID-19 and lung cancer, potentially reducing the risk of pulmonary fibrosis.

Early experience of nintedanib in COVID-19 ARDS-related pulmonary fibrosis: a case series.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has spread like wildfire worldwide and has affected millions of people. The novel corona virus mainly affects the lungs leading to life threatening disease like acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The aftermath of the disease in form of pulmonary fibrosis is upcoming cause of further increase in morbidity and mortality. Nintedanib is an oral antifibrotics with proven role in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, however its use in COVID-19 related pulmonary fibrosis has not been studied. We report our early experience of use of nintedanib in COVID-19 related pulmonary fibrosis.

New twist to an old problem: COVID-19 and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Iidiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) diagnosis and treatment during this COVID-19 pandemic have been affected. COVID-19 has not only impacted the prognosis of these patients but also the approach to these patients. Pulmonary function tests (PFT) and lung biopsies are less encouraged now. Traditional antifibrotics used in IPF should be encouraged irrespective of patient lung function and in those with non-definite usual interstitial pneumonia in high resolution computed tomography.

Traditional Chinese medicine combined with pulmonary drug delivery system and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: Rationale and therapeutic potential.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive pulmonary interstitial inflammatory disease of unknown etiology, and is also a sequela in severe patients with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Nintedanib and pirfenidone are the only two known drugs which are conditionally recommended for the treatment of IPF by the FDA. However, these drugs pose some adverse side effects such as nausea and diarrhoea during clinical applications. Therefore, it is of great value and significance to identify effective and safe therapeutic drugs to solve the clinical problems associated with intake of western medicine. As a unique medical treatment, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has gradually exerted its advantages in the treatment of IPF worldwide through a multi-level and multi-target approach. Further, to overcome the current clinical problems of oral and injectable intakes of TCM, pulmonary drug delivery system (PDDS) could be designed to reduce the systemic metabolism and adverse reactions of the drug and to improve the bioavailability of drugs. Through PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and CNKI, we retrieved articles published in related fields in recent years, and this paper has summarized twenty-seven Chinese compound prescriptions, ten single TCM, and ten active ingredients for effective prevention and treatment of IPF. We also introduce three kinds of inhaling PDDS, which supports further research of TCM combined with PDDS to treat IPF.

Revisiting matrix metalloproteinase 12: its role in pathophysiology of asthma and related pulmonary diseases.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of over 20 zinc-dependent proteases with different biological and pathological activities, and many have been implicated in several diseases. Although nonselective MMP inhibitors are known to induce serious side-effects, targeting individual MMPs may offer a safer therapeutic potential for several diseases. Hence, we provide a concise overview on MMP-12, given its association with pulmonary diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and other progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF), which may also occur in coronavirus disease 2019. RECENT FINDINGS: In asthma, COPD, and PPF, increased MMP-12 levels have been associated with inflammation and/or structural changes within the lungs and negatively correlated with functional parameters. Increased pulmonary MMP-12 levels and MMP-12 gene expression have been related to disease severity in asthma and COPD. Targeting MMP-12 showed potential in animal models of pulmonary diseases but human data are still very scarce. SUMMARY: Although there may be a potential role of MMP-12 in asthma, COPD and PPF, several pathophysiological aspects await elucidation. Targeting MMP-12 may provide further insights into MMP-12 related mechanisms and how this translates into clinical outcomes; this warrants further research.