Abstract: Respir. Med and Res 81 (2022) 100900 Available online at ScienceDirect www.sciencedirect.com Original article Characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 patients with IPF: A multi-center retrospective study Aykut Cillia,*, Ismail Hantab, Fatih Uzera, Funda Coskunc, Can Sevincd, Pelin Pınar Denizb, Mehmet Parlaka, Ersoy Altunokb, Kemal Can Tertemizd, Ahmet Ursavasc a Department of Respiratory Disease, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey Department of Respiratory Disease, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey c Department of Respiratory Disease, Uludag University, Bursa, Turkey d Department of Respiratory Disease, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmır, Turkey b A R T I C L E I N F O Article History: Received 16 November 2021 Revised 18 February 2022 Accepted 25 February 2022 Available online 3 March 2022 Key words: Interstitial lung disease Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis Outbreak Pandemic SARS-CoV-2 A B S T R A C T Background: There are few data on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (COVID19) infection in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The objective of this study is to describe the characteristics and outcomes of IPF patients confirmed COVID-19 infection. Methods: In this retrospective, multi-center, cohort study, patients from 4 hospital medical records with known IPF and a COVID-19 diagnosis were identified. Demographic and clinical outcome data were abstracted through a review of electronic medical records. Results: Records for 46 patients with IPF and COVID-19 were abstracted. The mean age was 65§ 10 years. The most common symptom was dyspnea, followed by fever and cough. Ground-glass opacities (n = 35, 83.3%) and consolidations (n = 11, 26.1%) were the main imaging features of the disease in thorax computed tomography (CT). Twenty-four patients (52.1%) required hospitalization. Among the hospitalized patients, 16 (66.6%) were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), and 10 (41.6%) underwent invasive mechanical ventilation. Thirteen patients (28.2%) died of COVID-19 complications. Mortality rate was significantly associated with lower DLCO/VA, long term oxygen therapy and consolidation finding on CT of thorax (p<0.05). On multivariable analysis, neither factor was associated with hospitalization or mortality. Conclusions: IPF patients represent a vulnerable population for COVID-19, according to the high rate of hospitalization, ICU requirement, and mortality rate. Measures to minimize the risk of COVID-19 infection remain key to protect IPF patients. © 2022 SPLF and Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.