Active clinical trials for "Respiratory Distress Syndrome"

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of nutritional supplementation with omega-9 "olive-oil" and omega-6 "soybean oil" based lipid emulsions in the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). The investigators hypothesize that these specific lipids in combination will immunomodulate the inflammatory reaction that occurs in the lungs of ARDS subjects. This concept is known as "Pharmaconutrition." These lipids will be given intravenously so as to assure administration and only as a supplement to enteral nutrition which all subjects will also receive. The omega-9 will be compared to the omega-6 formulation which is the only FDA approved formulation of use in the United States since its development in 1961 by Fresenius-Kabi, Bad Homburg, Germany. The investigators plan to perform a bronchoscopy with lavage within 24 hours of enrollment, begin the lipid administration and continue it for 96 hours after which time the investigators will repeat bronchoscopy with lavage to assess changes. The lipid administration will cease following the second bronchoscopy. The fluid obtained from lavage combined with serum samples obtained at the time of bronchoscopy will be analyzed for inflammatory mediators and cell counts. Clinical data tracing will include but not be limited to: ventilator days, nutritional status, ICU time, oxygenation and lung compliance, and 30-day mortality.

Acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are similar conditions in which the lungs are critically injured by another inflammatory process in the body. Together they affect more than 150,000 people per year in the United States, with mortality approaching 50% and a financial burden estimated to exceed $5 billion. Fluid overload, weight gain, and reduced oncotic pressure (low blood proteins) are associated with prolonged need for mechanical ventilation and mortality in patients with ALI/ARDS. Historical studies have provided conflicting evidence for benefits with colloid or diuretic therapy in ALI/ARDS, but recent clinical trials have demonstrated significant improvements in blood oxygen levels. The mechanisms of these benefits are not yet certain, but appear to relate to albumin's (a protein medicine) specific ability to influence injury and inflammation in the lungs, thus improving the ability for the lung to repair and exchange oxygen. The purpose of this project is to determine the effects of therapies that affect blood proteins on their ability to change the way the lungs and cardiovascular system (heart and blood vessels) function. Special measurements will be taken to understand how these protein medicines change the ability of the lung and whole body to recover from widespread injury, with additional measures of specific heart and lung function. This clinical trial randomizes ALI/ARDS patients with low blood protein levels to receive albumin (a natural blood protein that is known to influence inflammation) or hetastarch (a synthetic blood protein) with diuretic therapy targeted to improve respiratory function. Therapeutic effects on respiratory function and blood oxygen levels, extravascular lung water, oncotic pressure, lung fluid removal, and heart function will be characterized. This trial will advance our understanding of treatment of ALI/ARDS and the factors that affect fluid balance in the lungs of these patients. Funding Source - FDA Office of Orphan Products Development (OOPD)

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of three doses of HL 10 given at fixed time intervals compared to standard therapy

This study will compare two ventilator modes in mechanically ventilated patients with acute lung injury. Acute lung injury (ALI) is a condition in which the lungs are badly injured and are not able to absorb oxygen the way healthy lungs do. About 25% of patients who are ventilated get ALI. ALI causes 75,000 deaths in the US each year. Ventilators can be set to work in different ways, called modes. One mode, called ARDSNet, pumps a small amount of air into the patient's lungs and then most of the air is released prior to the next breath. Another mode, called Airway pressure release ventilation (APRV), keeps air in the lungs longer between breaths. Both of these modes are currently used at this hospital. The investigators think APRV may help patients with ALI, but we do not know for sure.

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) causes the lungs to fail due to the collection of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary oedema). ARDS is common in severely ill patients in Intensive Care Units and is associated with a high mortality and a high morbidity in those who survive. There is a large economic burden with direct healthcare costs, but also indirectly due to the impact on the carer and patient through their inability to return to full time employment. There is little evidence for effective drug (pharmacological) treatment for ARDS. Blood cells called platelets have increasingly been recognized to play a key role in the development of ARDS. There is increasing information that aspirin, a drug which is widely used to treat heart disease, might be important in treating ARDS. We plan to test if aspirin will help in the treatment of ARDS. To do this we will divide patients suffering from ARDS into two groups, one of which will get aspirin and the other a harmless dummy (or placebo) tablet who will then be followed up to determine if lung function improves. If effective this may lead to further research to determine if aspirin is effective in patients with ARDS. This project will also provide new information about mechanisms in the development of ARDS leading, potentially, to other new treatments.

This study will compare the administration of porcine surfactant (poractant alfa, Curosurf®) through a less invasive method (LISA) using a thin catheter, CHF 6440 (LISACATH®), during non-invasive ventilation (CPAP, NIPPV, BiPAP) with an approved conventional surfactant administration during invasive ventilation followed by rapid extubation in terms of short term and mid-term safety and efficacy in spontaneously breathing preterm neonates with clinical signs of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).

Some people develop the condition called acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This is a condition where the lungs have become injured from one of a number of various causes, and do not work as they normally do to provide oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from the body. This can lead to a reduced amount of oxygen in the patient's bloodstream. Patients with ARDS are admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and need help with their breathing by being connected to a ventilator (breathing machine). ARDS can lead to injury in other organs of the body causing other problems but also death. Over the past few years, reducing the size of each breath delivered by the ventilator in conjunction with the use of an occasional sustained deep breath called a "recruitment manoeuvre" have been used to try to prevent further damage to the lungs in people with ARDS. This ventilator strategy (termed the PHARLAP strategy) has been shown in a small research study to have some beneficial effects without causing any obvious harm, when compared to a current best practice ventilator strategy. The main beneficial effects of the PHARLAP strategy were to increase the amount of oxygen in the blood and to reduce markers of inflammation (the body reacting to a disease process) in the body. This study was too small to make a strong conclusion, so this study will be much larger and will assess whether patients who have developed ARDS are better off when we use the PHARLAP strategy. Three hundred and forty patients will be enrolled into this study in multiple ICUs across Australia and New Zealand. The study hypothesis is that the PHARLAP strategy group will have a higher number of ventilator free days at day 28 than the control group.

This is a phase II, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, safety and efficacy study of a recombinant chimeric monoclonal antibody against CD14 (IC14) in hospitalized patients with acute lung injury (ALI).

To examine the possible relationship between genetic factors and the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

Respiratory failure in term newborns is associated with increased rates of death and long-term neurodevelopmental problems. This large international multicenter trial randomized newborns who had failed to respond to intensive care, including high levels of ventilator support, to receive either inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) or 100 percent oxygen to test whether iNO would decrease their risk of dying or requiring temporary lung bypass. Infants were followed during their initial hospitalization; their outcome was assessed at 18 to 24 mos of age.