Active clinical trials for "Lung Diseases"

Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common causes of community-acquired pneumonia and exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, which are associated with morbidity, mortality, and higher health-care cost. In addition, recently high daily dose of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) therapy became more evident to be beneficial in moderate-to-severe COPD patients, but excess risk of pneumonia shown in database analysis was worried about by primary physicians. The use of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination (PPSV23) has protective efficacy to eliminate infection of Streptococcus pneumoniae from previous studies. If the use of PPSV23 can reduce the incidence of pneumonia or exacerbations in COPD patients using high daily dose of ICS, the benefit of ICS can be preserved and risk of pneumonia can be reduced. However, there is only limited data supporting this hypothesis. In this study, the investigators will conduct a double-blinded, randomized controlled trial to evaluate the clinical efficacy of PPSV23 in severe COPD patients using high daily dose of ICS.

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 study is to test the effects of reducing indoor environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) on unscheduled asthma visits, asthma symptoms, airway inflammation, and exposure to tobacco smoke measured using air nicotine dosimeters, serum and hair cotinine.

To determine the value of contrast enhanced spiral computed tomography (spiral CT) for the diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism (PE).

In the Lung Health Study I, to determine the effects of Special Care, compared to Usual Care, on rate of decline in pulmonary function in a group of cigarette smokers identified as having mild abnormalities in pulmonary function. In the Lung Health Study III, to determine the long-term effects of smoking cessation and continued smoking, on cardiopulmonary morbidity, mortality, and the rate of decline in the one second forced expiratory volume (FEV1) in men and women with early chronic obstructive lung disease who have been followed prospectively for 12 to 15 years.

The purpose of this study is to compare acute bronchodilator effects of Ipratropium/Levosalbutamol 20/50 mcg Fixed Dose Combination (2 inhalations) via pMDI and Salbutamol 100 mcg Inhaler (2 inhalations) plus Ipratropium 20 mcg Inhalation Aerosol (2 inhalations) Free Combination in Patients with stable moderate-severe-very severe COPD.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of the intravenous (IV) or paravertebral (PV) lidocaine administration during the intraoperative period of lung resection surgery on the appearance of postoperative complications. We design a randomized, controlled and blinded study to be performed in 153 patients with 3 arms: 1) Lidocaine IV + PV saline 2) saline IV + PV lidocaine, 3) remifentanil IV + PV saline. Perioperative analysis of inflammatory biomarkers in bronchoalveolar lavage and serum. Follow-up of the postoperative course, especially the appearance of postoperative complications according to the revised Clavien-Dindo classification for thoracic surgery, as well as other relevant clinical results.

Accurate pre-operative lung assessment is important to decide the most appropriate anesthesia plan. Until now, chest X-ray is considered the standard of care for lung assessment during perioperative evaluation. However, lung ultrasound is a rapid, simple, non-invasive, radiation-free imaging modality and can be used as an alternative to chest radiography for the diagnosis and follow-up of various lung diseases. Moreover, the decreased radiation exposure represents a considerable improvement in patient safety. Consequently, we decided to compare the data obtained from the lung ultrasound and the chest X-ray.

In this trial, the investigators will evaluate the effect of acetazolamide (375 mg per day) vs. placebo on exercise performance at altitude in patients with COPD.