Active clinical trials for "Lung Diseases"

The colonization of potential pathogenic bacteria in lower respiratory tract is thought to be accountable for acute exacerbation in subjects with moderate to severe COPD. However, there is no accepted therapy for patients with COPD to remove the colonized bacteria in lower respiratory tract. Therefore, we plan to perform a multi-center, randomized, controlled trial to study the efficacy and safety of oral probiotics, aerosol inhaled amikacin or combined vaccination to decolonize bacteria in lower respiratory tract and prevent acute exacerbation of COPD.

This study will assess the Efficacy of NVA237 (50 μg o.d) using tiotropium (5μg μg o.d) as active control in COPD patients.

This project plans on a training intervention by using public spaces and urban walkable trails, adapted to each patient needs and capabilities. Primary objective is to assess 12 months effectiveness of the intervention with respect to: (primary outcome): physical activity level, and (secondary outcomes): COPD admissions, exercise capacity, body composition, quality of life, and mental health.

Many patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) also have other diseases referred to as comorbidities. Often these patients require health care by a variety of health care professionals from services linked to hospitals and in the community. Unfortunately, sometimes it may be difficult for these patients to receive appropriate care in a timely manner resulting in a trip to the emergency department. As well, patients may benefit from education that enables them to recognize early signs indicating they are getting sicker and to self-manage their disease. Our study will examine a strategy that includes a case manager who will make weekly phone contact with COPD patients with comorbidity that present either to the emergency department or are admitted to hospital. Weekly contact will focus on teaching patients to recognize worsening symptoms and self-management strategies. The case manager will work with patients, caregivers, community health care providers and hospital specialists to promote communication and optimize care delivery. The investigators will examine the impact of our intervention on the need for emergency department visits and hospital admission. The investigators will also examine the impact on patients' health related quality of life, number of COPD exacerbations, and disease progression.

This study is to evaluate if add-on treatment with inhaled NVA237 (50 µg) once daily (o.d.) via single-dose dry-powder inhaler (SDDPI) further improves lung function and health status and is well tolerated compared to placebo in symptomatic COPD patients with moderate to severe airflow limitation who are already receiving maintenance therapy with inhaled fixed-dose-combination of salmeterol/fluticasone propionate (50/500 µg) twice daily (b.i.d.) via multi-dose dry powder inhaler (MDDPI).

The intent of this clinical study is to answer the questions: 1) Is the proposed treatment safe and 2) Is treatment effective in improving the health of patients with human Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

This protocol describes the investigation of the use of hyperpolarised helium magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in reflecting the regional differences in lung function of moderate to severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients. Since finalisation of the original protocol, new medications for COPD have received Market Authorisation Approvals. Protocol Amendment 02 has been prepared to include these medications in the protocol eligibility criteria and restrictions for the study.

Endorphins are naturally occurring narcotic substances that are released when individuals perform exercise. The hypothesis of the study is that endorphins reduce the severity of breathlessness during exercise in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The initial five visits include familiarization and validation of a computerized system for patients to report dyspnea and leg discomfort continuously during exercise testing. At Visits 6 and 7 blood is drawn to measure serum endorphin levels pre-exercise, end exercise, and 30 minutes after exercise. Normal saline or naloxone is given intravenously 5 minutes prior to exercise in a double-blinded design. The primary outcome is the slope of oxygen consumption - dyspnea.

Moxifloxacin, is being tested at approximately 60 study centres in 15 countries to determine if this drug, when taken periodically in addition to the patients normal treatment, is effective at reducing the number of flare-ups of chronic bronchitis he has. Approximately 1132 subjects will participate, and it is expected that the study will run for 2 years in order to reach that goal. The patients individual involvement in the study will be 17 months. Moxifloxacin will be compared to a placebo drug (no active ingredients). The study medication (moxifloxacin or placebo) will be taken in addition to the patients normal medication for chronic bronchitis. In addition to the first clinic visit, called a screening visit, the patient will be required to come back to the clinic for ten more study visits, every 8 weeks. At the first visit the study co-ordinator will provide him with the dates for all the visits. Over a period of 48 weeks the patient will return to the clinic on 6 occasions where he will receive the study medication which he will take for five days, in addition to his normal treatment for chronic bronchitis. After this time the patient will enter a follow up period for 24 weeks, where he will come to the clinic for assessments and continue to take his normal medication but not receive the study drug. A complete medical history will be taken at the first visit, including the patients past and current smoking habit. A breath test will be performed to assess how well his lungs are functioning. In addition, he will also be asked to provide a sputum sample for a microbiological examination to identify any bacteria present in the sample. The patient must be able to provide a sputum sample at the screening visit. If the patient meets all the inclusion / exclusion criteria for the study, he will be allocated randomly to one of the following treatment groups at the second visit.- Treatment group 1: Receives moxifloxacin orally once daily for five days.- Treatment group 2: Receives a matching placebo once daily for five days.In between each visit (four weeks after your clinic visit), the study site co-ordinator will contact the patient to check on his well being. If the patient or the doctor decides to stop the patients participation in the trial for any reason, the patient will be required to return to the clinic for a physical examination, take a breath test, provide a sputum sample (if possible) and have a blood sample taken.

The purpose of this randomized controlled trial is to test the efficacy of a novel intervention, Pocket PATH (Personal Assistant for Tracking Health) for promoting self-care agency, self-care behaviors, and transplant-related health.