Abstract
Background and objectives: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an interstitial lung disease (ILD) that is very fatal due to its unpredictability, various symptoms, irreversible complications, and poor prognosis. Oxidative stress is an important factor in the pathogenesis of IPF. Therefore, the use of antioxidant compounds can be a good option for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis. Since selenium has antioxidant effects, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of combination therapy with pirfenidone and selenium supplementation in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Methods: The study was an observational study. Ten patients who were referred to Hazrat-e-Rasoul Hospital were recruited. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, patients were randomly divided into two equal groups (5 patients in each group) including treatment group who in addition to pirfenidone (200 mg three times a day), also received selenium supplement (200 mg once a day) orally, and the control group, who received just pirfenidone (200 mg three times a day) orally. The duration of this study was 24 weeks. At the beginning of the study, at 12 weeks and 24 weeks, respiratory indices including FVC, FEV, PO2 and FEF25 were measured.
Results: Ten patients were able to complete the experimental procedures. The results showed that treatment with selenium supplementation did not cause a significant change in any of the mentioned variables.
Conclusion: It seems that more studies are needed to reveal the different aspects of the role of selenium supplementation in patients with fibrosis. It is recommended that future studies be performed with a larger sample size. Also lung imaging and evaluating the inflammatory factors are recommended as well.