Interpretation of Consensus of Chinese experts on pneumoconiosis treatment (2024)

The most important revision of the Consensus of Chinese experts on pneumoconiosis treatment (2024) is to attach importance to antifibrotic treatment, and recommend tetrandrine and nintedanib for the treatment of silicosis and coal worker's pneumoconiosis, especially in patients with rapidly progressing silicosis. The second most important revision is a positive attitude towards lung transplantation which is recommended for patients with end-stage pneumoconiosis who do not respond to medically optimized conservative treatment as early as possible. In addition, new updates also include the addition of the application of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in pneumoconiosis with pulmonary infection, the diagnosis and treatment of pneumoconiosis with nontuberculous mycobacteriosis (NTM), and high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy (HFNC) in pneumoconiosis with respiratory failure therapies. The evidence and recommendations of the current version are assessed by the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system.