Volatile organic compounds in expired breath v1.1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Volatile organic compounds in expired breath during aerobic and anaerobic exercise in healthy volunteers: a metabolomic study
IRAS ID
162456
Contact name
Angella Bryan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
This study uses vigorous exercise on a bicycle ergometer to mimic the changes in metabolism that occur in severe illness to enable substances to be identified in exhaled breath that may be associated with illnesses such as sepsis.
There is a need for the development of new technologies to facilitate the clinical optimization of sick patients in the critical care unit and the operating theatre by providing real-time information about their clinical condition. Many of these patients develop systemic sepsis, which may lead to multiple organ failure.
Current technologies, such as continuous cardiac output monitoring or measurement of blood lactate concentrations, do not adequately reflect changes at cellular level. Systemic sepsis is characterized by disturbances in cellular metabolism, including a transition from aerobic (oxygen-using)to anaerobic (non oxygen-using) metabolism. Abnormal metabolism inevitably results in changes in the blood concentrations of many metabolic products.
Small molecules diffuse from the blood into the lungs and are present in exhaled breath. It has been demonstrated that many chemical products of cellular metabolism can be detected in exhaled breath as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), using mass spectrometry (MS) as the detection method. It is not known how the pattern of these VOCs changes in sepsis or other critical illness.
In healthy individuals, vigorous exercise induces the onset of anaerobic metabolism in skeletal muscle and the transition can be detected when the subject exercises on a bicycle ergometer: cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET). In this respect, CPET can be used as a model of the onset of anaerobic metabolism.
We propose to use MS to measure the exhaled concentrations of an array of VOCs in 10 healthy volunteers during CPET, to identify particular VOCs that result from anaerobic metabolism. This information may be applicable in the future development of a novel bedside monitor for use in critically-ill patients.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
14/WS/1155
Date of REC Opinion
5 Dec 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion