Assessing Personalised Airway Clearance Techniques in PCD

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Assessing the effects of personalised airway clearance regimens in children and young people with Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia.

• IRAS ID

  299027

• Contact name

  Lynne Schofield

• Contact email

  lynneschofield@nhs.net

• Sponsor organisation

  Leeds Teaching Hospitals

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 8 months, 2 days

• Research summary

  Airway clearance techniques (ACTs) are used to clear mucus from the lungs in conditions where normal mucus clearance is impaired. One such condition is Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD) which affects the lungs from birth. Without effective mucus clearance in PCD, repeated chest infections and progressive lung damage are seen. ACTs are a major component of PCD management but the measures currently available to assess their effects are limited.

  This study will measure the short-term effects of ACTs with a sensitive and safe tool; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to take pictures of air inside the lungs before and after an ACT. It will also find out how specialist physiotherapists currently decide what ACT regimen they recommend to patients and if providing clinicians with the information from the MRI changes their recommendations.

  This study will invite clinicians working in PCD (physiotherapists, doctors and nurses) and children and young people aged 5-18 with PCD from 3 specialist centres (Leeds, Bradford and Sheffield).

  Children and young people with PCD:
  At one visit they will;
  • Have an MRI scan
  • Complete their usual ACT regimen with a physiotherapy review. This will be video recorded.
  • Have an MRI scan
  • At 4 hours have a final MRI scan

  To see if the ACT has a positive effect on the lungs over and above natural variation, a separate small group of patients will have the same scans at the same time intervals but will not complete an ACT between scans.

  Clinicians:
  • We will find what specialist physiotherapists currently consider when advising patients on their personalised ACT regimen.
  • Will watch a video of the ACT review and share their ACT recommendations.
  • They will then see the pictures from the MRI scans to see if this changes their recommendations.

  The study funded as part of a HEE/NIHR clinical doctoral fellowship.

• REC name

  South Central - Oxford B Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  21/SC/0197

• Date of REC Opinion

  9 Jul 2021

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion