LCI RESCUE
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Lung Clearance Index (LCI): RElevance in Symptomatic Children Under Eight
IRAS ID
212094
Contact name
Francis Gilchrist
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
UHNM R&D Department
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Measurement of lung function is vital when assessing patients with respiratory diseases. It enables quantification of disease progression as well as response to treatment. Unfortunately, it is technically difficult to get reliable lung function measurements in children <7 years using standard methods. It would be a huge step forward if clinicians had a simple and reliable method of measuring lung function in young children.
Lung Clearance Index (LCI) is an exciting way of measuring lung function that is derived from tracing the lung washout of an inert gas during normal (“tidal”) breathing. It has been shown to be more sensitive and more responsive to change than standard spirometry in children and in adults with lung disease. LCI is very reproducible and easy to perform since only relaxed tidal breathing is required. LCI has been widely used in children with cystic fibrosis but there are a paucity of studies regarding its use in children with viral induced wheeze (VIW) and multi trigger wheeze (MTW).
In this 2 year study we will measure LCI in children aged 2-7 years with VIW and MTW (30 in each group). This will be done each time the child attends the hospital for an out-patient visit and when possible when they attend the hospital due to an exacerbation. We will calculate the change in LCI per year (∆LCI) from the measurements taken when the child is free from exacerbations at 0 and 24 months as well as the effect of wheeze exacerbations on LCI. These results will be compared to 30 children aged 2-7 years with CF (Disease Control Group) who will have LCI measurements taken over the 24 months as in the VIW and MTW groups and 50 healthy volunteers aged 2-7 (Healthy Control Group) in whom LCI will be measured on a single occasion.
REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/WM/0489
Date of REC Opinion
19 Dec 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion