Clinical trial NCT01922180: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: CT Features of Severe Exacerbation
Official title: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: CT Features of Severe Exacerbation
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Conditions: COPD Exacerbation
Keywords: Chest Computed Tomography
Lead sponsor: Erasme University Hospital
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2013-08-14
Enrollment: 44
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Observational model: COHORT
Time perspective: PROSPECTIVE
Sampling method: NON_PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: COPD patients followed in our institution (i.e. Erasme University Hospital), who are admitted for a severe exacerbation episode.

Brief summary: To describe Computed Tomography (CT) features associated with severe exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

Detailed description: The natural course of COPD is associated with episodes of exacerbation which are clinically defined as acute events characterized by a worsening of the patient's respiratory symptoms that is beyond normal day-to-day variations and which leads to a change in medication. Moreover, these episodes can be classified into mild, moderate, or severe exacerbations, following patient's need for medical environment. While the cause of about one-third of severe exacerbation episodes cannot be identified, two-thirds are associated with certain conditions such as respiratory tract infections (viral or bacterial), air pollution, as well as pulmonary embolism (PE), pulmonary edema, cardiac arrhythmia, pneumothorax, or pleural effusion. As COPD exacerbations are associated with increased morbidity and mortality, as well as with increased healthcare costs, their prevention and treatment are two major objectives in COPD management with subsequent requirement for appropriate assessment tools. As imaging tool, chest radiography is limited to the detection of pneumonia and pleural abnormalities, and only leads to change in managements in a marginal proportion of patients. However, while Computed Tomography (CT) scans allows detecting more chest abnormalities, the knowledge of CT features at the time of exacerbation is a pre-requisite for determining possible role of CT in routine work-up of exacerbation. Nevertheless these features remain widely unknown, previous studies having focused on the prevalence of PE. The aim of our study was therefore to describe these features by comparing CT scans performed at severe exacerbation with control scans.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Severe exacerbation episode of COPD, requiring hospital admission

Exclusion Criteria:

* No exclusion criteria

Primary outcomes:
measure: Chest CT scan features at exacerbation
timeFrame: 4 hours
measure: Chest CT scan features at control
timeFrame: Minimum two weeks after exacerbation
Secondary outcomes:
measure: PFT at control
timeFrame: Minimum two weeks after exacerbation
measure: PFT at exacerbation
timeFrame: 4 hours
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Brussels
country: Belgium
facility: Erasme University Hospital
Study officials:
affiliation: Erasme University Hospital
name: Pierre Alain Gevenois, MD, PhD
role: STUDY_DIRECTOR
References:
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citation: Hackx M, Ghaye B, Coche E, Muylem AV, Gevenois PA. Severe COPD exacerbation: CT features. COPD. 2015 Feb;12(1):38-45. doi: 10.3109/15412555.2014.903916. Epub 2014 Jun 10.