Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), also known as cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis, is a
distinct form of interstitial lung disease of unknown etiology that is limited to the lung; it is
associated with the histologic pattern of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP)[1]. IPF often
presents clinically with progressive dyspnea, restrictive lung physiology, including impaired
gas exchange, and radiographically with patchy reticular abnormalities that are found mainly
at the lung bases. Once diagnosed, IPF carries a bleak prognosis, with 5-year survival rates …