The Early Life Lung Infection (ELLI) Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Immune responses in early life lung infection
IRAS ID
245152
Contact name
Simon Nadel
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Joint Research Compliance Office, Imperial College London
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Lung infections are the most common cause of hospitalisation of infants. Human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV), the most common cause of severe lung infections during the first year of life, is responsible for up to 150 000 deaths and 3.2 million hospital admissions annually. No vaccine that protects from hRSV infection is available and no new treatments have been developed in recent years.
Studies of the airways of infants with lung infections are required to definitively understand what leads to disease in some infants. We seek to understand how the immune response contributes to protection against infection and disease severity. We will study the immune system in infant blood and samples taken from the airways of infants with lung infections. We will compare the immune system in infants who are ill with those who have mild disease, do not have a lung infection, and with healthy adults. In addition we will determine whether the genes of the infant or the infecting virus or bacteria contribute to the outcome of infection.
Samples will be collected following informed consent from infants and adult volunteers at St. Mary’s Hospital London. The paediatric wards at St Mary’s are responsible for the clinical care of many babies with severe respiratory infection. Of the babies that attend the Emergency Department with upper respiratory tract infections each winter, over 100 are admitted to the paediatric wards with lung infections. Around 40 babies a year require mechanical ventilation on the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit to support them during a lung infection. Although the clinical burden is large, most babies respond well to treatment and mortality is rare.
This study could offer new insights into the causes of severe disease and identify markers that could predict children at high risk of severe lung infections.REC name
London - Riverside Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/1570
Date of REC Opinion
6 Nov 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion