Cognition in hospitalised COPD patients

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Investigation of factors affecting cognitive impairment and recovery in COPD patients admitted to hospital with exacerbations

• IRAS ID

  162126

• Contact name

  Emma H Baker

• Contact email

  ebaker@sgul.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  St George's, University of London

• Research summary

  Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic lung disease mainly caused by smoking. Patients with COPD have symptoms of breathlessness and are at risk of sudden worsening of their symptoms (exacerbations), often caused by infection. They are also at increased risk of other diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer, known as co-morbidities.
  In this study we are interested in the relationships between COPD, exacerbations and cognitive impairment - that is difficulty with memory, language, thinking and/or judgement. Stable COPD patients have cognitive impairment compared to healthy volunteers of a similar age. Cognitive impairment is much more marked in COPD patients admitted to hospital with exacerbations than in stable COPD patients. This is not just an effect of being in hospital, as we found (13/WM/0434) that COPD patients admitted to hospital have much greater cognitive impairment than patients with heart failure also admitted to hospital.
  In this study we will explore the hypothesis that physiological changes during exacerbation, including inflammation, pyrexia and hyperglycaemia, cause cognitive impairment in COPD patients hospitalised for exacerbations. We will recruit 25 COPD patients and 25 patients with heart failure hospitalised with worsening of their condition. We will measure cognition using questionnaires within 48 hours of admission and 72 hours later. Patients will be asked for a sample of their blood, to be taken at the next occasion on which a clinical sample is taken, and a sample of urine. We will use these measurements to investigate cognitive impairment and recovery during hospital admission and look for associations between cognitive impairment, neuroinflammation and markers of microvascular disease.

• REC name

  London - Central Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  14/LO/1687

• Date of REC Opinion

  7 Oct 2014

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion