Study: NCT02238327

Intervention type: PROCEDURE
Intervention: Six-Minute walk test
Description: Six-minute walk tests are performed in a 100 foot (30.48 m) segment of straight hallway marked at 10 foot (3 m) intervals. In addition to the usual ATS protocol, the patient is monitored, when available, with Bluetooth wireless pulse oximetry and the time and distance recorded after six minutes and if they desaturate to \<88%. Dyspnea (Borg 0-10) and perceived exertion (Borg 6-20) scales are completed at the beginning and the end of test.

Intervention type: RADIATION
Intervention: Quantitative CT scans
Description: Subjects will undergo a standard chest CT. The CT scans will use a phantom shipped between sites to standardize results and capture contiguous volume scans acquired at slice thicknesses of 5.0 mm in the axial plane and reconstructed with 512 x 512 pixel matrices. CT examinations will encompass the entire thorax and be performed during a breath-hold at end-inspiration. We will measure % of lung tissue below a threshold for emphysema (i.e. -950 Hounsfield units). Measurements have been histologically-verified and give reproducible measurements. The data set is assembled and analyzed with the image data anonymized.

Intervention type: RADIATION
Intervention: Quantitative CT scans
Description: Subjects will undergo a standard chest CT. The CT scans will use a phantom shipped between sites to standardize results and capture contiguous volume scans acquired at slice thicknesses of 5.0 mm in the axial plane and reconstructed with 512 x 512 pixel matrices. CT examinations will encompass the entire thorax and be performed during a breath-hold at end-inspiration. We will measure % of lung tissue below a threshold for emphysema (i.e. -950 Hounsfield units). Measurements have been histologically-verified and give reproducible measurements. The data set is assembled and analyzed with the image data anonymized.

Intervention type: PROCEDURE
Intervention: Nasal secretion and cell collection
Description: Participants will be instructed to blow their nose to remove accumulated mucus. Two sprays of commercially available nasal saline will be instilled in each nostril. The participant will then be ask to exhale through the rinsed nostril into a specimen cup. We will repeat this up to 5 times on each side depending on the participants' tolerance to the procedure. Using an otoscope, a small curette will then be used to collect 3 to 5 samples of nasal cells from each nostril. These samples will be used immediately for analysis or banked for future study.

Intervention type: PROCEDURE
Intervention: Nasal secretion and cell collection
Description: Participants will be instructed to blow their nose to remove accumulated mucus. Two sprays of commercially available nasal saline will be instilled in each nostril. The participant will then be ask to exhale through the rinsed nostril into a specimen cup. We will repeat this up to 5 times on each side depending on the participants' tolerance to the procedure. Using an otoscope, a small curette will then be used to collect 3 to 5 samples of nasal cells from each nostril. These samples will be used immediately for analysis or banked for future study.

Intervention type: PROCEDURE
Intervention: Echocardiogram
Description: The cardiac ultrasound will use standard ultrasound techniques to image two-dimensional slices of the heart using 3D real-time imaging.

Intervention type: PROCEDURE
Intervention: Echocardiogram
Description: The cardiac ultrasound will use standard ultrasound techniques to image two-dimensional slices of the heart using 3D real-time imaging.