BackgroundAlthough depression and anxiety represent significant yet treatable comorbidities in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), their impact on the clinical course and prognosis of IPF remain unclear.PurposeWe investigated the prevalence and clinical significance of depression and anxiety in patients with IPF.MethodsThe present study included a prospective cohort comprising 112 Korean patients with IPF who had completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaire.ResultsSymptoms of depression and anxiety were present in 25.9% and 21.4% of patients with IPF, respectively (HADS scores ≥8). No significant differences in demographic data, age, sex, smoking status, Modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea Scale (MMRC) scores, pulmonary function tests, or Gender-Age-Physiology Index for IPF were observed between patients with depression or anxiety and those without. However, in patients with anxiety, St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) scores were significantly higher than those of patients without anxiety (40.5 versus 23.5; p = 0.003). The survival rate and total number of hospital admissions did not significantly differ between patients with depression/anxiety and those without.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that depression and anxiety are relatively common in patients with IPF. Although no significant differences were noted with regard to survival rate and hospitalization, the present study suggests that depression and anxiety significantly influence quality of life in patients with IPF.

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Background : When a non small cell lung caner patient at the cT 1-2 N 0 M 0 stage is diagnosed with intrapulmonary nodule(s), the treatment plan and prognosis of the patient largely depend on whether the nodule is benign or malignant. In most cases, however, it is hard to conduct a biopsy on such a nodule, due to its small size. Furthermore, the predictive factors that may imply benignancy or malignancy of the nodules remain unknown. As such, the purpose of our study was to validate the incidence of malignant nodules in such cases, and find if there are any predictive factors.Methods : Chest computed tomography(CT) scans and the medical records of 444 patients, who had undergone non small cell lung cancer surgery, between July, 2001 and September, 2003, at Seoul National University Hospital, were retrospectively reviewed. Among cT 1-2 N 0 M 0 non small cell lung cancer patients, with intrapulmonary nodule(s), only those cases where a CT scan or a biopsy of the nodules had been conducted, and had been followed up at intervals of more than 6 months were included. However, patients who had received chemotherapy or radiation therapy, pre-or post-operatively, or with calcified nodules, were excluded.