Clinical Research Directory

Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio in Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) stands as one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) lead to rapid respiratory function decline and worsened disease status. Despite recent studies, the ability of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) to predict outcomes in patients with COPD remains controversial. It remains controversial whether NLR can predict clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with AECOPD. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the predictive value of NLR for severity, adverse outcomes in hospitalized patients with AECOPD, and predicting treatment response in patients with AECOPD

Non-invasive Ventilation or CPAP in OSA-COPD Following Admission for an Acute Hypercapnic Respiratory Failure

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major public health problem with 212.3 million prevalent cases of COPD worldwide and 3.3 million deaths related to COPD in 2019. Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is the most common sleep disordered breathing. It is estimated that almost 1 billion adults have OSA worldwide. Given the increasing prevalence of obesity, co-morbid OSA is frequently seen in patients with COPD. Co-morbid OSA has been shown to increase mortality, to reduce quality of life and to favour acute exacerbation of COPD. For those admitted for a life-threatening exacerbation of COPD requiring an intensive care admission for acute hypercapnic failure, they are more likely to get readmitted. For those admitted for an acute exacerbation in any ward, they are more likely to be re-admitted for another exacerbation within 180-days if their OSA is not treated. Unfortunately, data regarding the best management of OSA in patients with co-morbid COPD are lacking as they were often excluded from clinical trials involving patients with COPD. Therefore, CPAP or NIV are administered without scientific evidence establishing which treatment is the most appropriate.

The CATALINA Study

The CATALINA study is a prospective cohort study embedded within CICERO (Collaboration In COPD ExaceRbatiOns, a European Respiratory Society supported Clinical Research Collaboration), designed to collect standardised, longitudinal clinical data and biological samples in 20 centres across Europe and beyond.

Improved Diagnostics, Treatment and Follow-up of Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic and often progressive pulmonary disease, where inflammation and recurrent infections are key pathophysiological contibutors in disease progression. Acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) are often treated with antibiotics, even though only about 50% are caused by bacteria, and the evidence for benefit of empiric antibiotic treatment in AECOPD is conflicting. Microbiological sampling is often insufficient in the setting of AECOPD, and there is a lack of biomarkers distinguishing AECOPD caused by bacteria from those not caused by bacteria, leaving the clinician with few tools to guide the use of antibiotics. Overuse of antibiotics is the main driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a major global public health threat, and obtaining the correct microbiological diagnose is important in guiding treatment of AECOPD. COPEXNOR seeks to examine which samples give the highest microbiological yield in AECOPD, comparing induced sputum to nasopharyngeal swabs. We will also compare conventional microbiological diagnostics to modern rapid molecular microbiological tests, to evaluate if faster microbiological diagnosis improves antibiotic stewardship. The study aims to define the microbiological etiology causing AECOPD in the Norwegian COPD-population, and examine the lung microbiome over time. COPEXNOR will explore biomarkers in sputum and blood that can be useful for differentiating patients who will benefit from antibiotic treatment from patients who will not.