Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) exhaled by children and young people
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) exhaled by children and young people
IRAS ID
106549
Contact name
Caroline S Beardsmore
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospitals Leicester
Research summary
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are present in exhaled breath and can be monitored by passing a breath sample through a mass spectrometer. The pattern of VOCs is altered by disease, including asthma and respiratory infections. We now need better knowledge of the profile of VOCs in healthy children and young people, and the factors that influence this. In particular, we want to establish (i) how the VOC profile changes with age between early school age and adulthood, (ii) whether this is different in children with inflammation in the lungs, and (iii) the effect of food on the VOC profile. \n\nWe will invite children and young people attending the Emergency department with minor injuries to participate by providing us with a breath sample. This will involve a short period of breathing quietly down a tube. We will use questionnaire data to provide information on factors that might influence VOCs, and specifically to ascertain the time and composition of previous meals. The majority of subjects tested will be free of respiratory disease (i.e. ‘healthy’) but a proportion will be known asthmatics or will have a current upper respiratory tract infection.
REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/WM/0371
Date of REC Opinion
8 Oct 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion