Copyright
©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Polymyxin B-immobilized fiber columns: A column to breathe new life into the treatment of interstitial lung disease?
Katsuaki Asakawa, Toshinori Takada, Division of Respiratory Medicine, Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital, Niigata 951-8520, Japan
Toshinori Takada, Uonuma Institute of Community Medicine, Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital, Niigata 951-8520, Japan
Author contributions: Asakawa K and Takada T equally contributed to this paper.
Conflict-of-interest: None.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Toshinori Takada, MD, PhD, Professor, Director of the Uonuma Institute of Community Medicine, Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital, Niigata 951-8520, Japan. ttakada@med.niigata-u.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-25-2270379 Fax: +81-25-2270417
Received: December 4, 2014
Peer-review started: December 7, 2014
First decision: December 26, 2014
Revised: January 6, 2015
Accepted: January 18, 2015
Article in press: January 20, 2015
Published online: March 28, 2015
Peer-review started: December 7, 2014
First decision: December 26, 2014
Revised: January 6, 2015
Accepted: January 18, 2015
Article in press: January 20, 2015
Published online: March 28, 2015
Core Tip
Core tip: Application of direct hemoperfusion with polymyxin B-immobilized fiber columns (PMX-DHP) to the treatment of acute exacerbations of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis may improve oxygenation and survival of the patients with the disease. PMX-DHP performed on the first day of steroid pulse therapy may improve the prognosis of patients with rapidly progressive interstitial lung diseases in a case-control setting. PMX treatment decreases not only various circulating molecules but also inflammatory cells, in particular activated monocytes, producing such mediators. In order to test the effects of PMX-DHP on the disease, a cohort or case-control analytic study needs to be conducted, preferably from more than one center or research group.