Active clinical trials for "Lung Diseases"

The purpose of this study is to analysis the volatile organic gases(VOCs) in exhaled breath of pulmonary lesion patients and healthy controls, in order to find the difference of composition and concentration among groups.

Pulmonary function testing is the most widely used tool for the diagnosis, severity assessment, management, risk factor categorization and follow-up of individuals with chronic lung disease. Africa has a high burden of infectious respiratory diseases which include tuberculosis, asthma and human immunodeficiency virus-related lung disease. Coupled with this is an increasing burden of non-communicable respiratory diseases; which include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, bronchiectasis and asthma. A proviso to the use of lung function testing is the determination of "normal" values; which are determined for age, gender, height and ethnicity for the relevant population. It is well recognised that the comparison of an individual patients' results to an ethnically inappropriate population may lead to the under or -over diagnosis of disease, inappropriate treatments and result in increased burden on individuals, their families and the healthcare system. The investigators therefore propose to conduct a prospective well-designed study to include a representative sample of both adults and children (4000); to verify the validity of the retrospective pilot data, in a South African population.

This prospective cohort study will investigate whether progression of the interstitial lung diseases is related to specific clinical endpoints and their changes over time. Longitudinal data of patients will be compared to an age-matched control group during a follow-up of at least two years.

The purpose of the study is to identify the genetic closeness of NTM derived from patients living together and from their surrounding environment and to trace the temporal relationship between them.

The Aims of the study are estimate the association between the severity of COPD and free testosterone level and the prevalence of hypogonadism in adult men with stable COPD

First, the aim of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of echocardiographic parameters for detecting pulmonary hypertension (PH) in patients with advanced lung disease referred for lung transplantation. Second, to assess the prevalence of PH and to identify which hemodynamic, echocardiographic, pulmonary functional test, exercise capacity and biochemical parameters (especially NT-proBNP) have an impact on survival in a cohort of patients with severe lung diseases referred for lung transplantation.

The aim of this prospective case-control study is to investigate the prevalence, severity and incidence of systemic consequences in newly detected patients with mild and moderate Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Special attention will be paid to skeletal muscle dysfunction and physical inactivity as these factors are, together with smoking, potentially modifiable.

Scarring of the lungs is common in patients with scleroderma and is one of the main causes of death. Patients with scleroderma very frequently have problems with their gullet (esophagus), the food pipe that leads into the stomach. Normally, a small circular muscle at the base of the esophagus opens to allow food to pass into the stomach and closes to keep the digestive fluids from flowing back up into the gullet. In patients with scleroderma, the muscle may become weak and no longer close properly. Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is the medical term for reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus. Our hypothesis is that small amounts of GER can move back up into the esophagus and get inhaled into the lungs, and may be one of the triggers for lung scarring. We propose to look for certain substances normally only found in the stomach in the "exhaled breath condensate" which is collected by breathing comfortably into a cooled cylinder, allowing the breath to condensate. In a smaller group of patients, we also plan to perform a bronchoalveolar lavage, a more widely studied test in which a small amount of fluid is introduced into a small part of the lungs through a fine tube, and then removed for examination, to evaluate whether the two tests provide similar measurements. We will also evaluate the correlation between these molecules and other tests, including lung function, and markers of lung scarring activity, and tests to look at how the esophagus is working so that we can get a clearer picture of how this affects patients' daily lives. Finally, we will be following up patients over time with lung function to see whether evidence of GER into the lungs is linked with a greater likelihood of worsening of lung scarring in the future.

For patients with emphysema lung volume reduction (ELVR) could be an expedient approach for the reduction of distension of the lung. ELVR may be performed using RePneu® Coils. After the insertion of the coils distended lung sections shrink so that healthy parts can expand. In the present study investigators intend to examine, whether the insertion of the coils improves diaphragm function and force of the breathing muscles. Investigators hypothesize that reduction of lung volume eliminates or reduces flattening of the diaphragm and relieves breathing muscles, respectively respiratory pump, which aims to reduce dyspnea.

The aim of the study is to develop an interview to ask patients with COPD about their fear of death and dying, their needs and wishes at the end-of-life. Afterwards, the patients receive a brief psychological intervention to develop coping strategies for chronic illness. Beside this a general purpose of this intervention is to improve patients' quality of life.