Clinical Trial of Air Cleaners to Improve Indoor Air Quality and COPD Health
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
About this trial
This is an interventional other trial for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) focused on measuring COPD
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Age ≥ 40 years,
- Physician diagnosis of COPD,
- Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) Stage II-IV disease with Forced Expiratory Volume (FEV1)/ Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) ≤70% and FEV1 (% predicted) <80%,
- Tobacco exposure ≥ 10 pack-years, and
- Former smoker. We will employ a combination of self-report and a biochemical marker to identify former-smokers. Exhaled CO (eCO) will be used as a marker of smoking status, as it is easy to perform, provides immediate data and is non-invasive. Former-smokers will be those who report no current smoking in the past 1 year AND have exhaled CO levels ≤ 6ppm. This threshold was chosen to maximize the chance of distinguishing true smokers and ex-smokers (>95%).
Exclusion Criteria:
- Chronic systemic corticosteroids (≥ 3 months continuous use in past 12 months),
- Other chronic lung disease including asthma,
- Living in location other than home (e.g., long term care facility) and
- Home owner or home occupant planning to move or change residence within the study period.
Sites / Locations
- Johns Hopkins University
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Sham Comparator
Active Comparator
Sham HEPA Air Cleaner
HEPA Air Cleaner
Sham HEPA Air Cleaner and Delayed Intervention. Homes in the control group will receive sham air cleaners that have the internal HEPA and carbon filters removed, but which will run normally, including similar noise, airflow and overall appearance compared to active air cleaners, thus blinding participants to filter status.
HEPA Air Cleaner also containing carbon filters (Austin HealthMate HM400) and capable of removing PM and NO2 will be placed in the bedroom and room where the participant reports spending the most time. These air cleaners are suitably sized to provide clean air delivery rates for the rooms in which they will be placed. Participants will be instructed to run the air cleaners continually during the course of the study and the units will be modified to prevent them from being turned off by the participants.