Acute Respiratory Tract Illness in an HIV infected population
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Acute respiratory tract illness in an HIV infected population with a high uptake of antiretroviral therapy.
IRAS ID
155055
Contact name
Marc Lipman
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2014/06/25, Data Protection Reference number
Research summary
The health of people living with HIV infection has improved hugely in recent years with better treatments, but the most recent evidence available suggests that they continue to have higher rates of lung disease than the HIV uninfected. As people with HIV infection who are on effective treatment are likely to live almost as long as the HIV uninfected this may become very significant for their future health.
Several previous studies have shown that people with HIV infection have high rates of respiratory symptoms. It is possible that more frequent or more severe acute respiratory illnesses are contributing to these increased rates of symptoms and chronic disease, but this has not been studied in detail.
This study will gain new information on lung disease in people with HIV infection compared to those without. We will recruit a group of 140 people with, and 70 people without, HIV infection and then follow them up for 12 months. We will look at factors that might have an effect on respiratory health, how many people experience respiratory problems such as breathlessness or cough and measure rates of lung disease by a simple measure of lung function and also through carefully documenting the respiratory problems that they encounter. We will also measure how frequently they need to contact health services such as GP practices or hospitals.
This will provide new information as to whether people with HIV infection are experiencing more episodes of respiratory illness, whether these illnesses are more severe or last longer and whether they are associated with different infections compared to people without HIV infection. This may help to explain why people with HIV infection seem to have higher rates of long-lasting lung disease.
REC name
London - Hampstead Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/1409
Date of REC Opinion
16 Sep 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion