Pulmonary fibrosis

Pulmonary fibrosis
Other names	Interstitial pulmonary fibrosis
A chest X-ray demonstrating pulmonary fibrosis believed to be due to amiodarone.
Medical specialty	Pulmonology
Symptoms	Shortness of breath, dry cough, feeling tired, weight loss, nail clubbing
Complications	Pulmonary hypertension, respiratory failure, pneumothorax, lung cancer
Causes	Environmental pollution, certain medications, connective tissue diseases, interstitial lung disease, unknown
Treatment	Oxygen therapy, pulmonary rehabilitation, lung transplantation
Medication	Pirfenidone, nintedanib
Prognosis	Poor
Frequency	>5 million people

Pulmonary fibrosis (literally "scarring of the lungs") is a restrictive respiratory disease in which scars are formed in the lung tissues, leading to serious breathing problems. Scar formation, the addition of extra fibrous connective tissue (the process called fibrosis), leads to thickening of the walls, and causes low oxygen supply in the blood.

As a result patients suffer from shortness of breath.

In some patients the cause of the disease can be diagnosed, but in others the cause is unknown, a condition called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. There is no known cure for the scars and damage in the lung due to pulmonary fibrosis.