Usefulness of Pirfenidone in Covid Lung: A Case Series

Abstract

The year 2020 has been plagued by the COVID‑19 pandemic that has resulted in an additional 1,800,000 deaths worldwide. Many patients who recover from Covid-19 later present with shortness of breath and fibrosis of the lungs, while some take a long time to recover from the initial infection. A drug such as pirfenidone, which has been used for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, could offer additional benefits by reverting pulmonary fibrotic damage. Here we describe a case series of five patients where addition of this drug showed marked improvement in symptoms and radiological findings. Apart from the efforts regarding understanding the pathophysiology of this new disease, we must also evaluate the proportion of patients that develop chronic lung disease due to fibrosis following COVID-19 recovery. Certainly, more attention should be given to new studies to determine the actual benefit of pirfenidone in patients with pulmonary fibrosis as a result of Covid-19 infection.