Introduction

Fatigue, caused by dyspnea associated with progression of interstitial pneumonia (IP), can negatively affect patients' quality of life (QOL). Ninjin’yoeito (NYT), a Chinese herbal medicine, is prescribed for general symptoms of fatigue and for fatigue associated with various respiratory diseases. However, there is a lack of integrated research on the effects of NYT in patients with IP. Therefore, we retrospectively investigated the efficacy of NYT in patients with IP and fatigue.

Materials and methods

From the IP patients who had taken NYT, 19 who met the following inclusion criteria were included: (1) age of ≥20 years, (2) fatigue, and (3) history of NYT administration. The primary endpoint was fatigue, which was assessed using the Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFS). The secondary endpoints were loss of appetite and dyspnea, which were evaluated using the Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ) and modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) scores, respectively. All items were measured before and after 12 weeks of NYT administration.

Results

In the enrolled 19 patients (male, 12; female, 7; mean age, 65.8 ± 12.7 years), the underlying diseases were idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (n = 8), idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (n = 5), connective tissue disease-related interstitial pneumonia (n = 2), chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (n = 3), and nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (n = 1). The CFS score decreased from 17.1 ± 6.8 before administration to 13.4 ± 5.7 after administration of NYT (p = 0.0389). The SNAQ score did not change markedly. The median mMRC score decreased from 3 to 2, however, the difference was not significant.

Conclusion

Many subtypes of IP are progressive, and a cure cannot be expected in cases of irreversible lung fibrosis. Therefore, a multifaceted approach to improve and maintain the QOL is needed in addition to the standard of care. This study showed that NYT can improve fatigue and help maintain the QOL in IP patients.

中文翻译：

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人人与灵藤对间质性肺炎患者乏力疗效的回顾性研究

介绍

由与间质性肺炎 (IP) 进展相关的呼吸困难引起的疲劳会对患者的生活质量 (QOL) 产生负面影响。Ninjin'yoeito (NYT) 是一种中草药，用于治疗疲劳的一般症状和与各种呼吸系统疾病相关的疲劳。然而，缺乏对 NYT 对 IP 患者影响的综合研究。因此，我们回顾性研究了 NYT 对 IP 和疲劳患者的疗效。

材料和方法

从服用 NYT 的 IP 患者中，包括 19 名符合以下纳入标准的患者：(1) 年龄≥20 岁，(2) 疲劳，以及 (3) NYT 给药史。主要终点是疲劳，使用 Chalder 疲劳量表 (CFS) 进行评估。次要终点是食欲不振和呼吸困难，分别使用简化营养食欲问卷（SNAQ）和改良医学研究委员会（mMRC）评分进行评估。所有项目均在 NYT 给药 12 周前后进行测量。

结果

入组 19 例患者（男 12 例；女 7 例；平均年龄 65.8 ± 12.7 岁），基础疾病为特发性肺纤维化（n  = 8）、特发性胸膜实质弹性纤维增生症（n  = 5）、结缔组织病相关间质性肺炎（n  = 2）、慢性过敏性肺炎（n  = 3）和非特异性间质性肺炎（n  = 1）。CFS 评分从给药前的 17.1 ± 6.8 降至给药 NYT 后的 13.4 ± 5.7 ( p  = 0.0389)。SNAQ 分数没有明显变化。中位数 mMRC 评分从 3 分降至 2 分，但差异不显着。

结论

IP 的许多亚型是进行性的，在不可逆的肺纤维化的情况下无法治愈。因此，除了护理标准外，还需要多方面的方法来改善和维持生活质量。这项研究表明，NYT 可以改善 IP 患者的疲劳并帮助维持生活质量。