Active clinical trials for "Lung Diseases"

Approximately 20% of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have major depression, a condition that contributes to suffering but also to poor treatment adherence leading to increased disability and morbidity. This study investigates the effectiveness of a care management intervention aimed at facilitating adherence to a treatment algorithm based on the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) guidelines. The investigators hypothesize that this intervention, in comparison to usual care, will increase the prescription of adequate antidepressant treatment by physicians, enhance treatment adherence by patients, and reduce depressive symptoms, suicide ideation, and disability at a 28-week follow-up period.

Systemic inflammation is present in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which has been linked to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. We determined the effects of oral and inhaled corticosteroids on serum markers of inflammation in patients with stable COPD.

The role of antibiotic therapy in patients with COPD remains controversial. While the outcome of several clinical trials is in favour of antibiotics, the quality of these studies in insufficient. In this study the efficacy of doxycycline is compared to placebo. All concommitant treatment (steroids, bronchodilator therapy, physiotherapy) is standardized. The investigators hypothesize that patients with an acute exacerbations will have a better outcome when treated with antibiotics.

A parallell group study comparing the effect of an education program with an education and training program for patients with COPD. 30 participants in each group. Participants self-select which group they wanted to be in. Main outcome is SGRQ (a HQoL for patients with COPD).

To evaluate indications for the use and efficacy of extracorporeal membrane oxygenators (ECMO's) for the support of patients with potentially reversible acute respiratory failure.

To compare the efficacy of long-term use of nocturnal oxygen therapy (12 hours) with that of continuous, low-flow oxygen therapy (24 hours) in patients with chronic hypoxic lung disease.

To conduct a collaborative program of research on asthma and pregnancy consisting of two studies: the Asthma in Pregnancy Study (APS) was an observational study to evaluate relationships between asthma severity and treatment programs and perinatal outcome, and the Asthma Therapy in Pregnancy Trial (ATPT) was a randomized clinical trial of inhaled beclomethasone versus theophylline in the treatment of moderate asthma during pregnancy. Both studies were conducted in the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit (MFMU) Network, an ongoing group of participating obstetric centers supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Studies were co-funded by the NHLBI.

Bacterial infections can progress to a life-threatening illness called septic shock, characterized by low blood pressure and vital organ damage. The syndrome is thought to be caused by parts of the bacteria and by the body s own immune response to the infection. A major bacterial product that interacts with the immune defenses is called endotoxin. This study will examine the body s response to endotoxin in the lungs or bloodstream. When endotoxin is given in small amounts to humans, even though it is not an infection, it triggers a set of responses that are typical of what one would see with a true bacterial infection. This allows us to study the earliest changes in molecules and cells that are involved in some bacterial infections. This type of model is safe and has been used in humans for many years to understand the body s responses during infections. Normal volunteers 18 to 45 years of age may be eligible for this study. Candidates will have a history and physical examination, blood and urine tests, electrocardiogram (EKG) and chest X-ray. In addition, volunteers 40 to 45 years old will have an exercise stress test to screen for asymptomatic coronary artery disease. Participants will undergo one or more of the following procedures: Bronchoscopy, Bronchoalveolar Lavage, Bronchial Brushings, and Endobronchial Mucosal Biopsies: These techniques for examining lung function are used routinely in patient care and clinical research. The mouth and nasal and lung airways are numbed with an anesthetic. A bronchoscope (pencil-thin flexible tube) is then passed through the nose into the large airways of the lung. Cells and secretions from the airways are rinsed with salt water (bronchoalveolar lavage) and a flexible brush the size of a pencil tip is passed through the bronchoscope to scrape cells lining the airways. Lastly, pieces of tissue (the size of the ball of a ballpoint pen) lining the airways are removed for examination under the microscope. Intravenous Endotoxin: A small dose of endotoxin is injected into a vein. Blood samples are drawn at regular intervals for 8 hours after the injection and again after 1, 2, 3, 7 and 14 days to analyze the body s immune response to the bacteria in the blood. Instilled Endotoxin in the Lungs: A small amount (2 teaspoons) of salt water is squirted through a bronchoscope into a lobe of one lung, and then salt water containing a small dose of endotoxin is squirted into the other lung. Bronchial lavage, brushing, and biopsy (see above) are then done to study the response of the lung to the endotoxin. In addition, air is withdrawn through the bronchoscope to study air components from the lung that was instilled with salt water or endotoxin. Nitric Oxide Therapy: Endotoxin is instilled in a lung (see above) and then nitric oxide a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas mixed with room air in a concentration of 40 parts per million, is given through a cushioned mask placed over the mouth and nose. (Some participants will be given the nitric oxide mixture and others will breathe only room air through the mask to test the effects of the nitric oxide on the lung inflammation.) The mask will be worn continuously for 6 hours and removed before repeat bronchoscopy with lavage, brushing and biopsy. Some of the above procedures require placement of a catheter (thin plastic tube) in a wrist artery to monitor blood pressure from heartbeat to heartbeat and to collect blood samples. First, the skin is numbed with an anesthetic (lidocaine). A needle is then inserted into the artery, the catheter is slipped over the needle into the vessel, and the needle is removed.

Oral L-citrulline supplementation may prevent and/or decrease the severity of chronic lung disease associated with pulmonary hypertension in preterm infants. Since oral L-citrulline supplementation has never been studied in preterm infants before, the side effect profile and appropriate dosing are still unknown. In this pilot study, the investigators will determine the safety profile, efficacy and appropriate dosing of oral L-citrulline in preterm infants. In the future, information from this study will be utilized to conduct a randomized placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the role of L-citrulline supplementation in treating BPD_PH.

The primary objective of the study was to characterize the safety and tolerability of once-daily revefenacin inhalation solution when dosed sequentially with twice-daily formoterol inhalation solution (PERFOROMIST®) compared to PERFOROMIST®, in a population of participants with moderate-to-very severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) over 21 days.