Active clinical trials for "Respiratory Tract (Lung and Bronchial) Diseases"

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major health problem whose prevalence is increasing rapidly. The gradual decrease in exercise tolerance is one of the usual consequences of COPD that affects the functional independence and quality of life of patients. In COPD patients, breathlessness and muscle fatigue are the main symptoms limiting exercise. Recent studies have shown that most of the physiological mechanisms of psychological factors such as emotions, motivation, memory, personality, expectations, or prior experience can greatly influence and modulate the perception of breathlessness. It has been proposed that the attentional distraction (visual or auditory) during exercise may be associated with a decrease in anxiety and shortness of breath and could improve exercise tolerance in COPD. We therefore propose to study the impact of attentional strategies of distraction on the perception of dyspnea and walking tolerance in patients with COPD. The research hypotheses are: i) Compared with exposure to a strategy of negative attentional distraction during exercise, exposure to a strategy of positive attentional distraction will improve walking exercise tolerance in patients with COPD; ii) For a given level of effort, sensory perception and emotional perception will be enhanced by exposure to a strategy of positive attentional distraction. Ten subjects with moderate to severe COPD will be recruited at the Research Center of the Institut Universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec (CRIUCPQ). During an assessment visit, we will measure complete pulmonary function, body composition and maximal functional capacity during a maximal incremental test work performed on a treadmill. During two subsequent experimental visits, and after spirometry control, participants will perform a walking test performed on a treadmill at an intensity corresponding to 75% of maximum effort during maximal incremental test. The test will be carried out in combination with a strategy of either positive attentional distraction, neutral attentional distraction or negative attentional distraction . The order of the condition will be randomized.

Tracheostomy is worldwide used for critically ill patients. The aim of our study is to assess the mortality, quality of life, laryngeal function, procedures, early and late complications of tracheostomy performed for critically ill patients admitted in intensive care units.

Although fist-line therapy with Cisplatin and etoposide(EP)or Carboplatin and etoposide(CE)and second-line therapy with topotecan has been given, patients with ED-SCLC still relapse and 2-year survival is less than 10%. There is no standard treatment recommendation for this group of patients who failed to second-line therapy and had good performance status. Some cytotoxic drugs for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, i.e. vinorelbine, paclitaxel, and ifosfamide, were used in refractory or recurrent SCLC patients. Recently, a retrospective study showed the overall response rate was 30%, the median progression free survival (PFS) was 6.5 months, and the median overall survival was 10.4 months in advanced combined SCLC patients treated with first-line regimen of vinorelbine, ifosfamide and cisplatin (NIP). Because of the previous platinum administration and patient's performance status, only vinorelbine and ifosfamide (NI) are combined and used as third-line therapy for refractor or recurrent ED-SCLC in our lung cancer center. And this clinical trial is designed to prospectively investigate the efficacy and safety of NI regimen in refractory or recurrent ED-SCLC patients in our center.

Background Ambient airborne particulate material (PM) is defined according the aerodynamic diameter into coarse, fine, and ultrafine or "nano" sized particles ranging between 2.5-10 µm (coarse), <2.5 µm (fine), and <0.1 µm (nano(. Many studies have examined particle effect on respiratory health in children, mainly by environmental monitoring of coarse and fine particles. Biological assessment of individual exposure to nano sized particles in correlation to adverse health effect was not previously studied. Hypothesis individual exposure to nano sized particles in children is associated with reduction in forced expiratory volume at one second.

Pseudomonas is a common and virulent respiratory bacteria in patients with Cystic Fibrosis (CF). With time, the infection with Pseudomonas becomes chronic and very difficult to eradicate. The standard treatment of chronic Pseudomonas infection is inhaled Tobramycin which is given every other month.. Inhalation of Tobramycin was proven as an effective treatment that improves the respiratory function and reduces the concentration of bacteria in the sputum. However, inhaled treatment lasts between 15 to 30 minutes twice a day and therefore adherence is a major problem. The effect of switching from inhalation treatment to inhaler treatment on patient's adherence and quality of life has not been studied.

The goal of the project is to define the prevalence and inflammatory background of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) in school children and determine individual and environmental risk factors for EIB. The obtained results will provide objective measures on biological processes leading to bronchoconstriction during exercise, as might be experienced naturally during the school life. The results could be applied in the management of EIB patients with or without asthma. The results of planned research will be published in journals with national and international impact, and presented during symposia and conferences.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate clinical and histological response to bronchial thermoplasty in severe asthma patients.

Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disorder in children. Despite significant advances in understanding of asthma, available therapies fail to alter the natural history and progression of the disease. Airway epithelial cells are continuously exposed to and injured by environmental irritants, such as viruses and pollutants, and as such are ideally situated to orchestrate airway function in response to these stimuli. Severe or difficult-to-treat asthma in children is a complicated disorder characterized by ongoing symptoms and persistent airway inflammation and oxidant stress despite corticosteroid treatment. Although severe asthma is likely a heterogeneous disorder, affected children similar clinical features, including gas trapping, bronchial hyperresponsiveness, and aeroallergen sensitization. However, the molecular and cellular pattern of inflammation in children with severe asthma are not uniform : some investigators have found increased eosinophils and TH2 derived cytokines, others have noted noneosinophilic patterns with neutrophil activation. Given the heterogeneity of the inflammatory response in children with severe asthma, additional methods to distinguish severe asthma are needed.

The logical next step is to integrate molecular profiling into the care of all patients with NSCLC.

Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of subcutaneous allergen immunotherapy with the symptom scores (RSS), visual analog scale (VAS) and medication scores (MS) and the impact on quality of life with rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire (RQLQ) in allergic rhinitis patients sensitized to different allergens. Also the development of new sensitizations and asthma during the immunotherapy were determined.