Hospitalisation patterns in interstitial lung diseases: data from the EXCITING-ILD registry

Area of Science:

• Pulmonology
• Clinical Epidemiology

Background:

• Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) encompass over 200 chronic lung conditions with varied prognoses.
• Limited data exists on hospitalization patterns and their impact in ILD patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze hospitalization patterns in ILD patients.
• To identify risk factors and predictors of hospitalization in ILD.
• To investigate the association between hospitalization and mortality in ILD.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of the EXCITING-ILD (Exploring Clinical and Epidemiological Characteristics of Interstitial Lung Diseases) registry data.
• Classification of hospitalizations into all-cause, ILD-related, and respiratory categories.
• Utilized Cox proportional-hazard models and logistic regression to assess hospitalization risk and influencing factors.

Main Results:

• 601 patients experienced 1210 hospitalizations; 66.1% were ILD-related, with most occurring in the first year.
• Mortality was associated with all-cause, ILD-related, and respiratory hospitalizations.
• Risk factors included advanced disease (GAP Index stages II-III), connective tissue disease-ILDs, unclassifiable ILD, emphysema, and smoking.

Conclusions:

• Hospitalization is a significant event in ILD, associated with increased mortality.
• Identifying high-risk patients and developing preventative strategies for hospitalization are crucial.
• Further research is needed to characterize vulnerable patient groups and implement interventions.