Outpatient Inhaled Nitric Oxide in a Patient with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: a Bridge to Lung Transplantation

Inhaled nitric oxide (INO) has been shown to improve oxygenation and decrease intrapulmonary shunt and pulmonary hypertension in various lung diseases. In this study we report a patient with end-stage idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension who received INO after coronary artery bypass surgery, with significant improvement in arterial oxygenation and pulmonary arterial pressure. Using a pulsing delivery system, the patient continued to receive outpatient INO for 30 months while waiting for lung transplantation. Exercise study and two-dimensional echocardiogram, after 3 months of inhaled NO, demonstrated continued benefits of INO for improvement of arterial oxygenation, pulmonary arterial pressure and exercise tolerance.