Prospective Validation of Cough, Dyspnea, and Quality of Life Questionnaires in Patients With IPF

The purpose of this study is to test cough, dyspnea (shortness of breath), and quality of life (QOL) questionnaires for their accuracy, sensitivity, and ability to reliably measure the severity of cough, breathlessness, and changes in cough and disease-related quality of life over time in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) patients. These questionnaires have been used in other types of disease, but have not all been tested and validated in patients with cough due to IPF. Our hypothesis is that worsening of cough, dyspnea, and cough-related QOL questionnaire scores will correlate with physiologic markers of IPF severity and worsening of disease. Written, valid questionnaires measuring cough, dyspnea, and QOL are important to assess the benefit of investigational drugs under development to treat patients with IPF.