Global characterisation of routine care interstitial lung disease diagnostic practice

Background: Novel therapies have the potential to change IPF outcomes necessitating improved diagnostic precision. Aim: Understand ILD diagnostic practice worldwide to inform future studies and guidelines. Methods: Questionnaire devised by IPF experts and disseminated to centres involved in ILD diagnosis around the world, and further distributed using a snowball approach and opt-in via a study website. The methodology characterised centres’: setting, caseload, diagnostic process, access to antifibrotics and interest in future research. Results: Between Oct 2016–Jan 2017, 506 clinicians from 473 unique centres across 62 countries (all global regions) participated: 42% Europe; 21% APAC; 15% Latin & South America; 13% North America; 5% Middle East, 4% Africa (15% BRIC). Completion rate was 82%: Conclusions: Centre caseload and formality of diagnostic approach vary although diagnostic test use appears similar across settings. These findings inform necessary agreement studies to optimise IPF diagnostic precision.