Trial reportThe European respiratory journal2025
Pirfenidone in post-COVID-19 pulmonary fibrosis (FIBRO-COVID): a phase 2 randomised clinical trial.
Trial report in The European respiratory journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Global landscape for pulmonary fibrosis treatment: a data-driven perspective from clinical trials.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy and Safety of Pirfenidone for Mitigation of Interstitial Lung Abnormalities in COVID-19 Patients: A Meta-Analysis.Canadian respiratory journal · 2026Pooled it
- iMSC-secreted factors preserve renal capillary networks and ameliorate fibrosis by interrupting the macrophage STING/CD8Stem cell research & therapy · 2026Article
- Oxidative Stress as a Mechanistic Link Between Severe Respiratory Viral Infection and Pulmonary Fibrosis.Biology · 2026Review
- Long COVID: a review of mechanisms and treatment modalities.Inflammopharmacology · 2026Review
- Inhalable Albumin Nanoparticles Co-Delivering Dihydroartemisinin and Nintedanib Attenuate Pulmonary Fibrosis by Suppressing TGF-β1/Smad2/3 Signaling.International journal of nanomedicine · 2026Article
- Clinical Practice Guideline Recommendations for Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19.Infection & chemotherapy · 2025Review
- Progress in the Application of Pirfenidone in Post-COVID-19 Pulmonary Fibrosis: A Review.Cureus · 2025Review
- Scars from the pandemic: understanding post-COVID-19 interstitial lung disease.Breathe (Sheffield, England) · 2025Review
- Pirfenidone in post-COVID-19 pulmonary fibrosis.The European respiratory journal · 2025Article
- Therapeutic efficacy of pirfenidone and nintedanib in pulmonary fibrosis; a systematic review and meta-analysis.Annals of thoracic medicineReview
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
38 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPatients with severe COVID-19 may develop lung fibrosis. Pirfenidone is an anti-fibrotic drug approved for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The efficacy and safety of pirfenidone in patients with fibrotic interstitial lung changes after recovery from severe COVID-19 pneumonia were evaluated.
methodsThis was a phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Spanish multicentre clinical trial. Patients were randomised to receive pirfenidone or placebo (2:1) for 24 weeks. The primary end-point was the proportion of patients that improved, considered when percentage change in forced vital capacity (FVC) was ≥10% and/or any reduction in the fibrotic score on chest high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT). Secondary end-points included health-related quality of life (HRQoL), exercise capacity and drug safety profile.
resultsFrom 119 eligible patients, 113 were randomised and 103 were analysed (pirfenidone n=69 and placebo n=34). Most patients were male (73.5%) and were receiving low-dose prednisone; mean age was 63.7 years and mean body mass index was 29 kg·m
conclusionsThe overall improvements in lung function and HRCT fibrotic score after 6 months with pirfenidone were not significantly different than with placebo.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.