Underlying and immediate causes of death in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

BMC Pulmonary Medicine

Table 2 Causes of death in the patients with IPF in the Kuopio University Hospital area

	Total (n = 132)	Female (n = 35)	Male (n = 97)	p-value^a
Deaths N (%)	117 (88.6)	31 (88.6)	86 (90.7)	0.774
Underlying cause of death
IPF	79 (67.5)	27 (87.1)	52 (60.5)	0.007
Pneumonia	3 (2.3)		3 (3.1)	0.292
Ischemic heart disease	17 (14.5)	3 (9.7)	14 (16.3)	0.371
Lung cancer	7 (6.0)		7 (8.1)	0.101
Pulmonary embolism	2 (1.7)	1 (3.2)	1 (1.2)	0.447
Colon cancer	2 (1.7)		2 (2.3)	0.392
COPD	1 (0.9)		1 (1.2)	0.547
Other^b	6 (5.2)		6 (7.1)
Immediate cause of death
IPF	54 (47.0)	23 (74.2)	31 (36.0)	< 0.001
Pneumonia	25 (21.4)	1 (3.2)	24 (27.9)	0.004
Ischemic heart disease	15 (12.8)	2 (6.5)	13 (15.1)	0.216
Heart failure^c	8 (6.8)	2 (6.5)	6 (7.0)	0.921
Lung cancer	5 (4.3)		5 (5.8)	0.170
Pulmonary embolism	2 (1.7)	1 (3.2)	1 (1.2)	0.447
Colon cancer	2 (1.7)		2 (2.4)	0.392
Other^d	6 (5.2)	1 (3.2)	5 (6.0)
Exacerbations preceding death
Acute exacerbation	11 (9.4)	3 (9.7)	8 (9.3)	0.932
Suspected acute exacerbation^e	31 (26.5)	7 (22.6)	24 (27.9)	0.609

p-values calculated using Fisher test
IPF idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease;
^aBetween genders
^bSick sinus syndrome (N = 1), cerebral infarction (N = 1), aortic rupture (N = 1), ileum strangulation (N = 1), heart failure (N = 1), drowning (N = 1)
^cFor any reason, including cor pulmonale
^dCerebral infarction (N = 1), aortic arteriosclerosis (N = 1), ileum strangulation (N = 1), hypotension (N = 1), respiratory failure due to COPD (N = 1), drowning (N = 1)
^eNo HRCT confirmation

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